(Providence, RI) – On Saturday, September 7, 2024, Swim Across America – Rhode Island Open Water Swim (SAA-RI) will hold its 15th annual charity swim at scenic Roger Wheeler State Beach at 100 Sand Hill Cove in Narragansett. Proceeds from this event will directly support crucial and often life-saving cancer research at Women & Infants Hospital. Established in 2010, SAA-RI has raised over $2.5 million to fund cancer research at one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns, Rhode Island’s Women & Infants Hospital.
Each year, the Rhode Island charity swim attracts over 700 swimmers and volunteers who enthusiastically show up to support this worthy cause. This year’s open water swim includes various swim options and one virtual option: a 1-mile, 0.5-mile, or 0.25-mile open water swim, or SAA My Way (virtual) and new this year, we’ve added a fun, shallow-water Splash & Dash for kids aged 12 and under who would like to participate in a shorter-distance event.
“What’s better for a Rhode Islander than jumping into the ocean for a swim and knowing you are also supporting life-saving cancer research? We are literally ‘making waves to fight cancer’. With the addition of this year’s Splash & Dash, this is truly a family-friendly event,” said Shannon R. Sullivan, president, and COO of Women & Infants Hospital.
Founded in 1987, Swim Across America is a national nonprofit organization that holds 24 open water swims and hundreds of pool swims across the country, from Boston to under the Golden Gate Bridge. The organization has an interesting history as it started with a sunken boat in Long Island Sound at its first-ever open water swim and has turned its passion for swimming and fighting cancer into $100 million that supports cancer research throughout the country.
Over several decades, Swim Across America funding has contributed to four FDA-approved life-saving immunotherapy treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq, and Keytruda, and supports research with more than 60 scientific grants funded each year.
While hundreds of local swimmers, and water and land volunteers join in the swim, the Rhode Island event is known for having more college swim teams participate than any other swim in the country.
Join us for the 15th annual SAA-RI swim on Saturday, September 7th at Roger Wheeler State Beach! To learn more about Swim Across America or to register to swim, volunteer, or donate, please visit swimacrossamerica.org/rhodeisland.
About Women & Infants Hospital
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation’s leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. A major teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology, and newborn pediatrics, as well as a number of specialized programs in women’s medicine, Women & Infants is the ninth largest stand-alone obstetrical service in the country and the largest in New England with approximately 8,700 deliveries per year. Women & Infants is a Designated Baby-Friendly® USA hospital and was recently ranked by Newsweek as one of America's Best Maternity Hospitals in 2024. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology ranked 11 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Medical Schools specialty ranking.
Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiography; a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high-risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology, and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network, and Pelvic Floors Disorders Network, as well as the National Cancer Institute’s Gynecologic Oncology Group.