Join us for the 18th Annual Hour of Power!
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023
The Ted Mullin Fund has raised over $1.6 million and the Hour of Power is the single largest contributor (62% of the total). Thank you to all who have donated to this worthy cause!
2023 REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION:
Past Events:
QUICK FACTS
- Who: All collegiate, high school, club, masters, and other interested swimming & diving teams. Dryland teams are also welcome.
- What: "Hour of Power" Relay in honor of Carleton College swimmer Ted Mullin, who passed away in the fall of 2006 from sarcoma, a rare soft-tissue cancer. Funds raised through this event support research at the University of Chicago Medicine into the causes and treatment of sarcoma in young people. When the event began in 2006, 15 teams joined together to raise team spirit, sarcoma awareness and $11,000. By 2019-20, participation included 170 teams and 7,100 athletes. Continuing a rebound from the pandemic, 144 teams and 6,300 athletes participated in the 17th annual Hour of Power. Over the past 17 years, participants in the "Hour of Power" raised nearly $1 million for the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Sarcoma Research at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital.
- When: Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, 5 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Central or 5 p.m. Mountain/4 p.m. Pacific (or on a date or time convenient to your program)
- Where: Your program's Home Pool
DETAILS
The annual "Leave it in the Pool" event features an "hour-of-power" relay practice. The set is one of the Carleton College Knights' favorites, and the team felt it would be an appropriate memorial to Ted to run a "Leave it in the Pool" practice consisting of continuous relays—any stroke, all-out swimming—for an hour, with the objective of keeping all lanes in each pool on the same length.
(Click here for a description of the "Leave it in the Pool – Hour of Power" Relay Swim Set)
Swimming the "Hour of Power" simultaneously across the country on one afternoon adds to the spirit and fun of the relay. However, those teams unable to participate at the scheduled date/times are encouraged to hold a relay event whenever possible.
The participants in the event are asked to gather donations for the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Sarcoma Research at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital. Checks should be made payable to "University of Chicago/TedMullin Fund" with the team name in the memo line, and mailed to the Ted Mullin Fund, P.O. Box 437, Winnetka, IL 60093-0437. Donations may also be made online. All donations made to the Ted Mullin Fund are tax deductible to the extent allowed by United States law.
We encourage participation to raise team spirit and sarcoma awareness whether or not your program is able to fund raise.
About the Ted Mullin Fund for Pediatric Sarcoma Research
Where Does the Money Go?
Money raised through the "Hour of Power" provides seed funding for the University of Chicago Medicine's (UCM) pediatric cancer research program. The Ted Mullin Fund has supported many research projects over the years including developing earlier prognostic tests for pediatric cancers, Big Data based projects through the Pediatric Cancer Data Commons, the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program and studying inherited dispositions to developing pediatric cancers. With each research project funded, the Ted Mullin Fund is involved in advancing pediatric cancer research and that impact has been evident over time with the development of UCM programs. UCM also hosts Ted Mullin Fund Scholars (PDF) in pediatric cancer laboratories each summer, giving collegiate Ted Mullin "Hour of Power" participants an opportunity to explore their interest in science and cancer biology.
For more information: Contact Rick Mullin and Mary Henry, info@TedMullinFund.org, 847-971-5003
| Year |
Total Teams |
Athletes*(estimated) |
College
Teams |
High School
Teams |
Club
Teams |
International |
| 2022 |
144 |
6300 |
95 |
21 |
27 |
1 |
| 2021 |
131 |
5800 |
89 |
13 |
26 |
3 |
| 2020 |
48 |
1800 |
30 |
5 |
12 |
1 |
| 2019 |
170 |
7100 |
116 |
18 |
34 |
2 |
| 2018 |
164 |
7718 |
114 |
20 |
26 |
4 |
| 2017 |
166 |
8650 |
112 |
22 |
29 |
3 |
| 2016 |
163 |
7750 |
109 |
25 |
24 |
5 |
| 2015 |
178 |
8400 |
115 |
22 |
30 |
11 |
| 2014 |
183 |
8700 |
119 |
25 |
34 |
5 |
| 2013 |
167 |
8100 |
108 |
18 |
37 |
4 |
| 2012 |
171 |
8300 |
111 |
27 |
27 |
6 |
| 2011 |
160 |
8000 |
107 |
19 |
27 |
7 |
| 2010 |
146 |
6979 |
102 |
16 |
21 |
7 |
| 2009 |
134 |
6471 |
103 |
11 |
17 |
3 |
| 2008 |
104 |
5983 |
85 |
8 |
9 |
2 |
| 2007 |
55 |
3092 |
46 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
| 2006 |
15 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
The "Hour of Power" swim practice is a dynamic 60-minute relay training session that requires all-out efforts from all participating team members. It is a challenging workout that fuels both team spirit and team energy.
The set up for the "Hour of Power" is as follows: team members are equally divided among the number of lanes to be used. For 6 or 8 lane facilities it is ideal to use every lane. It is also a good idea to have a minimum of 5-6 team members per lane for each relay. All relay swims are completed in 50-yard segments.
There are three primary objectives that must be met throughout the entire "Hour of Power" workout:
- Each swim must be done with an all-out effort - "leave it in the pool".
- At any given time, all the relays need to be on the same length or at least on the same 50 segment. Any stroke may be used and team members may need to shift from one relay lane to another to help maintain the same length/50 segment objective. This objective requires constant communication and teamwork.
- Perhaps most important objective - for high levels of performance to occur throughout this hour, equally high levels of enthusiastic encouragement must be evident at every possible moment. In other words, having significant amounts of cheering and expressive levels of excitement from all team members and coaches is inherently required.
Afterwards, the team can celebrate with a long, easy warm down to flush out fatigue and to have the opportunity to reflect upon on how much collective energy and effort was given to an inspiring and truly exhausting workout. Enjoy!
