When the Walton High School swim and dive team hits the water along with swimmers from five other schools at the Margaret Gilbert Memorial Invite Meet on Saturday, December 10, it won’t be just to compete. They will also be fundraising for a great cause.
This swim competition is a cancer awareness fundraiser, in memory of Margaret Soulen Gilbert, who passed away in 2009 after fighting breast cancer.
Since 2009, the Walton Swim & Dive program has hosted the Annual Margaret Gilbert Memorial Invite Meet every December. This meet is dear to the hearts of Walton High School’s coach, Sharon Loughran, her team and to all who have been touched in some way or another by the horrible disease of cancer.
Coach Loughran met Margaret Soulen Gilbert while swimming and competing for the Virginia Tech Swim and Dive Team. Coach Loughran wanted to honor her former college teammate and friend, while raising breast cancer awareness, by dedicating the annual Margaret Gilbert Memorial Meet in her friend’s memory.
Each year, the participating high school teams compete in the water and on the diving board as well as participating in a friendly fundraising competition.
The meet has a festive air about it and many athletes wear a pink cap in honor of the fight against breast cancer. Each team collects loose change and donations and puts them in team-specific donation buckets as the athletes and team supporters arrive at the meet. The high school that raises the most money for this cause is awarded a small trophy. All proceeds raised by this event sponsor Margaret’s four daughters and three sisters to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day fundraiser to fight breast cancer.
“I am always looking for ways for my Walton swimmers and divers to do something that has greater value than just thinking about winning state championships,” Coach Loughran says, “It’s important to teach young people to do good in their community.”
The Walton Raiders Swim & Dive Team invites the community to the 8th Annual Margaret Gilbert Memorial Meet on Saturday, December 10, at 1pm. Admission is $5. The meet is at the Central Aquatic Center, 520 Fairground Road in Marietta. For those who would like to contribute in Margaret’s memory but cannot attend the meet, visit waltonswimanddive.com.
