The Greenwich High School Boys Swim & Dive team has a long and storied tradition of excellence. Led by Coach Terry Lowe since 1967, the team has enjoyed plenty of wins over the years. But people often wonder: Is it the swimmers and divers? The coach? Or could it possibly be something completely unexpected, like the team fundraiser?
For about 50 years — the exact start date is undocumented — the team’s main fundraiser has been selling fresh fruit. The team has sourced its fruit from Florida’s Langdon Barber Groves since around 1976. When Langdon Barber sold its company to Pee Jay’s in 2018, the team continued the tradition with the family-owned New Jersey company. Coach Lowe likes tradition, and this fundraiser has certainly stood the test of time.
Why a fruit fundraiser, you ask?
The boys’ swim and dive season begins in December — the month of holiday indulgence and, unfortunately, plenty of germs. Meanwhile, swimmers need to be in peak form to train with Coach Lowe. Enter the fruit fundraiser. Instead of Christmas cookies, swimmers, how about a fresh grapefruit? Divers, take a pass on the holiday candy and grab some oranges instead!
There’s also a team-building component. When the fruit truck arrives in mid-December, the boys unload hundreds of boxes, providing some team bonding along with a pretty good workout.
GHS Boys Swim & Dive Team unloading and checking the fruit at the high school loading dock. Contributed photo
The fruit seems to speak for itself: One of the team’s biggest customers is a local realtor who buys around 80 boxes each year! The realtor was a swimmer herself and had two brothers who also swam for GHS. Talk about giving back fruitfully.
Each swimmer and diver is asked to sell 10 boxes of fruit. Fun fact: The most boxes ever sold were by a pair of brothers who sold more than 100 boxes.
While swimmers and divers pay team dues each season, some families need financial assistance. Proceeds from the fruit fundraiser help offset those costs, along with expenses for team suits, food and snacks for late away meets, training during the December and February school breaks (aka “doubles”), the team yearbook, the end of-season celebration, and other team needs.
And, of course, there’s the fruit itself. If you’re looking for a healthy — and delicious — way to support the GHS Boys Swim & Dive team, please consider placing an order through the team’s fruit fundraiser at https://freshfruitorder.org/GHSBoysSwimDive.
GHS Boys Swim & Dive Team getting ready to deliver fruit to local customers. Contributed photo
If you’re local, your order will be hand-delivered by a Greenwich High School swimmer or diver.
Live out of town or want to ship to friends out of town? Your fruit can be shipped directly via UPS anywhere in the United States. So your aunt in Texas who’s trying to stick to her wellness goals will appreciate both the thought and the delicious fruit.
It’s a win-win. And maybe, just maybe, it’s part of the winning secret to GHS boys’ success.
We’ll never know for sure, so play it safe and buy the fruit!
Hundreds of boxes of fruit await the GHS Boys Swim & Dive Team to unload, check and deliver to customers throughout Greenwich. Contributed photo