CRANBERRY TWP — A swim-a-thon fundraiser to help end polio planned for next month did not make a splash with potential participants and has been canceled.

Dan Novakovich, Cranberry Township Rotary Club president, said the swim-a-thon planned for Feb. 22 at the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA has been canceled despite the club’s efforts to recruit swimmers.

“We didn’t get the participation that we thought we would get,” Novakovich said.

The goal was to recruit people to form teams of four swimmers, who would gather per-lap sponsorships. Each team would be designated a lane and take turns swimming laps during the four-hour event.

Novakovich had hoped to recruit young people to form teams.

“We just didn’t get the support,” he said.

With just more than 30 days until the event, the club’s membership decided to scrap the swim-a-thon. Novakovich said the lack of interest may be because proceeds were going to eradicate a disease that exists in only in a few Third World countries.

“It’s such a far-removed thing for people here,” Novakovich said.

He said members also worried about closing down the YMCA pool for an afternoon for a sparsely attended event.

Evans City Rotary Club President Lee Dyer said he hoped to get 15 swimmers from Evans City, and 300 swimmers among the Evans City, Zelienople and two Cranberry Rotary clubs to participate.

Dyer is surprised the event didn’t fly in Cranberry.

“Who doesn’t want to go jump in a warm pool in February?” Dyer said.

He said his club recruited just four swimmers and one corporate sponsor. However, the club will retain the team and sponsor and piggyback with the Rich-Mar Rotary Club, which has a swim-a-thon at Pine-Richland High School.

Chuck Berry, president of the Rich-Mar Rotary Club, said its swim-a-thon will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Feb. 23 at Pine-Richland High School.

Berry said the Mars and Pine-Richland swim teams agreed to participate in the event, but about a half-dozen other districts in the area did not respond to the club’s invitation.

He said a Rotary International club in England held a swim-a-thon a few years ago that was successful, so the program was expanded to all clubs worldwide.

Those interested in participating in the swim-a-thon can e-mail Novakovich at novakovich@zoominternet.net.

The Grove City Rotary is holding the swim-a-thon. Details of that are available at www.grovecityrotaryclub.org.