The inaugural Annual Douglas Lake Swim-a-thon was held at Angelos' at The Point Restaurant at The Point Resort and Marina in Dandridge, Tennessee, on Saturday, August 8, 2009. 

By all accounts, it was a tremendous success.  Thirty-six swimmers participated in this two mile event with twenty-three registering as a one-person team and 13 individuals on four relay teams.  After a clinic on open water swimming safety and boating safety, all swimmers were boated to the beginning buoys which were near Day Board marker #12 in 65 feet deep water.  There were three waves of swimmers spaced approximately seven minutes apart with the individual team swimmers in the first two waves.  Kayakers with extra flotation devices accompanied the swimmers on their shore side.  The escort power boats were on the outside, open water side of the swimmers.  Both TWRA and Jefferson County Rescue Squad boats with divers ready were positioned to insure the safety of all swimmers

The finish line buoys were set about 50 feet out from the end of the dock at the Point marina.  The first swimmer to finish this two mile open water race was Eddie Wysmierski from Knoxville.  He did it in 50 minutes and 13 seconds!  In second and third place were a wife and husband, Raellen and Greg Simpson, also from Knoxville, a little less than a minute behind the winner, with Raellen beating her husband by one second.  As all swimmers passed the final buoys, the crowd gathered toward the end of the marina dock cheered their congratulations. 

The winning relay team finishing in one hour, ten minutes, and 21 seconds was team TNT, with team members Tucker Towe and Tyler Folks, also from Knoxville.  The second place relay team was the Freestylers, Edwin Bradley and Sarah Simmons, from Sevierville.  The third place relay team was Team Todd, comprised of Diane Overhiser, Wanda Nicholson, Keith Phildius, and Todd Brenizer, all from Jefferson County.

There were some true heroes in this event.  One individual swimmer has an amputated leg below his left knee.  He completed the entire two miles to be an inspiration to others in similar positions.  There was also a grandfather/granddaughter team.  The granddaughter swam the entire two miles with the grandfather swimming one mile.  Oh yes, the grandfather has polio, uses a crutch to walk, and primarily used upper body strength to complete his time in the water.  A special thanks goes to these individuals for joining in this special event.

Our youngest swimmer this year was 16 years old.  Our oldest was 60.  Over one-third of the participants traveled more than 40 miles to get to the event, including two from North Carolina.  Almost all swimmers said they thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to participate in an open water swim of this nature and will be back next year with others that they know will want to join in the fun and competition. 

The true winners of this Swim-a-thon were the two charities that were so strongly supported by all the participants, volunteers, sponsors, and contributors who gave their time, prize items, and donations to benefit others in need of help.  The charities were the Dandridge Food Pantry and Safe Harbor, a child advocacy agency serving four counties.  In addition to the registration fees, shirt sales, and gifts from various companies and individuals, there was a successful silent auction. 

There are many people and organizations to thank for helping to make this first Annual Douglas Lake Swim-a-thon so successful.  At the risk of leaving someone out, the organizers simply wish to say THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered and/or gave to this event.  Since this is intended to be an annual event in the historic town of Dandridge on beautiful Douglas Lake with the Great Smoky Mountains in the background, all of them and any others will be encouraged to join in the joy that come from having fun and helping others again next year.