Team USA Swimmers Are Leading Workouts, Q&As, and More to Benefit Black Lives Matter

If you're looking for more ways to support the Black Lives Matter movement and get some advice from top athletes in the process, there's a new web series you should look into. A group of U.S. swimmers has teamed up to launch Swimmers for Change, an initiative aiming to host webinars that raise funds for charities supporting Black communities. (

Founded by Olympic swimmers Lia Neal and Jacob Pebley, the grassroots movement now includes over 30 Olympians, Paralympians, and National Team swimmers who want to educate others in their sport about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. The athletes will host live-streams from now through June 26. The streams are free to sign up for, but the group encourages viewers to support a featured charity each day. Here's a peek at what topics each installment will cover—they're scheduled for 2–3 p.m. ET unless otherwise noted:

• 6/15: Sprinting and the revolution Q&A to benefit NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• 6/16: Quarantine knowledge to benefit the Equal Justice Initiative
• 6/17: Mental health to benefit Stoked
• 6/17 (3:30 ET): Barre/yoga workout to benefit the Innocence Project
• 6/18: Business/Legal/Competition to benefit Trident Swim Foundation and Know Your Rights Camp
• 6/19: Life after swimming, college recruitment/life balance to benefit NAACP and the Equal Justice Initiative
• 6/22: Nutrition to benefit the Loveland Foundation
• 6/23: General swimming Q&A to benefit EmbraceRace
• 6/24: Creating a team environment Q&A to benefit The Conscious Kid
• 6/24 (3:30 ET): Mental health and life after swimming to benefit Stoked
• 6/25: All things breaststroke and nutrition to benefit NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• 6/26: Cooking show to benefit Raised Roots

The lineup includes athletes such as Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian, silver and bronze Olympic medalist Elizabeth Beisel, and more. (

The swimmers are raising awareness and fighting for change at a time when systemic racism is being highlighted across industries, including their own sport. On Friday, USA Swimming released a letter to its members. "Due to a number of historical events, including the segregation of pools and limitation of Black swimmers, swimming, like society, fostered systemic racism," it reads. "While swimming has come a long way, we acknowledge that our progress has been much too slow. There is still much work to be done and it will take continued awareness, advocacy, and hard work in all our communities." The letter also detailed short-term steps that USA Swimming will take toward improving diversity, including partnering with organizations such as Diversity In Aquatics, as well as the Black History Invitational and the National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meets. (

If you're looking for ways to support the effort and would love to pick a top athlete's brain, might as well tune in to Swimmers for Change's streams. To sign up and have the episodes emailed to you, head to the CG Sports Network website.