Press Release!

The Swim Team Store expands national sales force with two new hires

Oct. 21, 2013

Wheeling, IL.  The Swim Team Store, Inc., the nation’s leading on-line swim team apparel platforms, a division of The Lifeguard Store, Inc., the nation’s leading provider of lifeguard equipment, is excited to announce additions to its national Team Sales Force.  Joining the fastest growing team dealer in the country are Amy Johnson and Missy Millekreit, to serve as Western and Eastern Regional Team Sales Managers.

      Both Amy and Missy come to the Swim Team Store with unprecedented knowledge of the competitive swimming industry, and most recently with online team software giant Team Unify.

“Our growth in the team market has been very rapid, and we’re going to maintain the customer service that got us here.” states Vice President of Sales, Matt Zimmer.  “Amy and Missy fully understand the importance of strong customer outreach, and the technology that allows us to make team fulfillment as easy as it can be.”

      Amy Johnson, bringing with her 20 years of competitive swimming passion as a swimmer, coach, and industry expert, explains, “I love the platform that The Swim Team Store operates on.  It truly leads the industry and I’m so excited with the direction the company is going.  After having met the management team and seen the growth they’re experiencing, I knew I wanted to be a part of this.”

      Missy Millekreit, seasoned swim apparel expert of 10 years, elaborates, “I’ve had the opportunity to work for a few of the most powerful companies in competition swim and swim software – and The Swim Team Store is the first to truly understand how to merge those concepts.  This isn’t just another online store – it’s a comprehensive commitment to team servicing.”

About The Swim Team Store.        
     The Swim Team Store is a national distributor of such swim brands as Speedo, TYR, Arena, Nike, Dolfin, and Rise Aquatics.   The Swim Team Store is proud to be sponsorship partners with the College Swim Coaches Association of America, US Masters Swimming, the YMCA, SwimSwam, and Illinois Swimming.  The Swim Team Store is an equal opportunity employer.

Contact.

The Lifeguard Store, The Swim Team Store

Media Relations

830 Seton Ct. #8

Wheeling, IL 60090

Office 224-676-0344

Fax 224-676-0902

info@theswimteamstore.com

Pics & Vids

Some pictures and a video from this past weekends Speedo/Illinois Swimming Clinic!

Conor Dwyer with fans:

Ryan Lochte with fans:

Lochte & Dwyer preparing to race:

The line just to get an autograph:

Some video from the clinic!

Low Attendance...

     At the recent US Open, and a few months ago at the World Championship Trials – we saw some outstanding Olympic-esque swimming in fantastic venues.  We saw the brightest heroes of the sport on deck and within arm’s reach for days at a time.  They were in our collective “back yards”.  That being said, the attendance was pathetic.  We have outstanding fans in such locations as Indianapolis, and Southern California – so where were they?  

As one of the outspoken spokesmen for our sport, Gold Medal Mel Stewart just wrote,

    “Foot traffic through these venues was less than desirable. All of the USA Swimming Club Teams within a 100 mile radius could have been marketed to aggressively, invite to come to at “no fee,” incentivized to attend. USA Swimming could’ve distributed goodie bags to each and every Club Team swimmer. Their swimwear brand partners could’ve and (dare I say) would’ve paid for it.”

So, what should USA Swimming do to increase “butts in seats” at our biggest events.  Just because it’s not the Olympic Trials, shouldn’t we have a rabid fan base ready to get in the minivan?!

Bad Strategy...or Bad Swim?!

America Stunned at World Championships

     Ricky Berens split a :48.56 in prelims, only to get bumped in favor of Ryan Lochte, who wound up splitting a :47.80 – exactly, and I do mean exactly, the difference between gold and silver for the relay.  Lochte has admitted he isn’t in the best shape heading into these championships, but he was put on the relay anyway because the coaching staff thought he was “fresh”.  

     Nobody likes a Monday Morning coach, but in a sport so non-subjective as swimming, it shouldn’t have been that hard to figure out who was really “fresh”.  

     Did the coaches get lulled into thinking Lochte channeled his inner Phelps, or did he just have a bad swim??

Finding New Swimmers

 Finding New Swimmers...

     USA Swimming announced a bold new initiative recently, with its main focus to get more participation in the pool.  Similar to initiatives launched by USA Hockey, USA Tennis, and the PGA – USA Swimming is realizing that other sports are taking their future into their own hands and recreating their sport to different age, gender, and socioeconomic groups.  

     Swimming has been a good sport at retaining its “clients”, but not great compared to other sports for participation, and that competition is growing.  So USA Swimming has a problem…..

     I believe that adapting to a model serving more dual meets, shorter, faster and fun events is going to do a lot more to get people involved than by trying to recruit athletes in parts of the country that don’t have pools.

Question – What should the sport of swimming do to increase participation?