This spring, Walpole Swimming and Diving will be selling rubber ducks for their annual fundraiser: the fourth annual Wacky Quacky Walpole Day Duck Race.  the team will sell rubber ducks over the next  two weeks. On Saturday, May 18th (also known as Walpole Day), the team along with the Walpole Recreation Department will oversee the official Duck Race where all ducks will race along the stream from Memorial Pond under School Street.  The Duck Race — the most anticipated year after year — is not only a successful fundraiser for the team, but the individual with the winning duck will also win $1000.

The race will take place at 3:30 on May 18th.  Each duck costs five dollars a piece, or a group of six ducks costs twenty-five dollars. On the Walpole Recreation Department’s website, http://www.walpolerec.com, there are one-thousand individual ducks for sale and six-hundred groups of six for sale.

The team will be selling ducks individually to their friends and family and at many local events.  Each duck purchased will have a number on it, and the winning duck wins the owner 1,000 dollars.  At 3:30 the ducks will be dropped into a designated area of Memorial Pond and the first duck to cross the finish line is the winner of the prize.

Every member of the swimming and diving team will be participating in the fundraiser and each member has to sell at least two-hundred dollars worth of ducks.  The money raised will be divided between the team’s banquet, the coaches’ salaries, bus fare, and uniforms.

Jen Conroy, a sophomore swimmer, said, “Everyone that participates has a great time watching the ducks go down the river.  Every year the race is different and that is what makes it interesting.” Not only do the teams enjoy the spectacle of a thousands of plastic floating ducks, but they also earn a considerable amount of money for the season. “We all love the Duck Race,” said Conroy.

The team consists of  thirty swimmers and four divers, and Cheryl Cavanaugh is the swim team’s coach.  The swim season starts in late August and ends at Thanksgiving, and they have practice every day Monday through Friday.  In addition to paying for assistant coaches and some buses, the fundraiser also will help lower the cost of their new uniforms.

Walpole Swimming and Diving hopes to keep competing at the level that they do every season and need the support from the town. The fourth annual Wacky Quacky Walpole Day Duck Race is a fun activity that can benefit both a lucky contestant and the funding that the team needs. If anyone wants to purchase a duck, contact a member of the Walpole High School swimming and diving team, or visit the aforementioned Recreation website.