Since its inception, USA Swimming’s Swimjitsu has been gaining popularity and momentum as swimmers and athletes across the country gather to test their agility and speed as they climb, crawl, kick and swim across mid-pool obstacle courses.

On September 16-17, Texas Ford Aquatics hosted Swimjitsu at their home pool in Frisco, Texas, but the event turned out to be much more than a way for kids to test out their ninja skills on water.

In the wake of hurricane Harvey, which affected millions of people in the Houston area, Texas Ford Aquatics decided to donate the proceeds from their event to hurricane relief efforts.

 “We’re not far from Houston, so helping people in our state was definitely something we wanted to do,” said TFA coach Samantha Kluttz. “We’re doing a fundraiser right now for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. We want to do anything we can to help anyone affected by these natural disasters in any way.”

About 600 participants took part in the two-day event, making it possible for the club to contribute to the hurricane relief efforts.

“It was hard to know what to expect since it’s such a different activity,” Kluttz said. “Now that people have a better idea how it works, we’ll expect more for next year. We’re just thankful that we had the participation we did so that we’re able to donate. We’re happy to play our part in helping.”

Kluttz and the fellow TFA coaches heard about Swimjitsu through USA Swimming’s #SwimBiz marketing conference, and it was an immediate hit with their swimmers, many of whom participated in the event.

“A lot of them didn’t know what to expect, but they had so much fun,” Kluttz said. “They’re already talking about doing another one, they’re pumped to do it again.”