Wet Brett Wet T-Shirt Swim Challenge to Cure FOP Seeking Participants and Corporate Sponsors!
@Pools Across the Country
Rare Disease Day on Tuesday, February 28, 2023
https://youtu.be/_sUzW9bKnQc
What is The Wet Brett Swim Challenge?

Rare Disease Day is celebrated the last day of February each year to raise awareness about the over 9,000 rare diseases affecting millions of people across the world. The Wet Brett Swim Challenge was started by Brett Matlosz in honor of his cousin Sienna who lives with one of those rare diseases, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP).

As part of the Wet Brett Swim Challenge, swim teams across the country will wear #cureFOP t-shirts during swim practice. Swimming with a t-shirt on will create drag, making practice far more challenging, creating a fun, team-bonding activity that will generate awareness about FOP. Any individual swimmer, or swim team, across the country can participate. The more participants, the better! All participants will receive a t-shirt, bracelet, and #cureFOP tattoo.

Why a Swim Challenge?
Swimming is an activity those with FOP can enjoy without worry of impact leading to injury like in other sports. This is why we believe a swim challenge is a great way to raise awareness and funds for FOP research, through the 501c3 charitable organization called the IFOPA.
Wet Brett Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities

How Can Sponsors Help?
• Financial Donations: Sienna’s Splash Donations go 100% to the IFOPA(www.ifopa.org) and are restricted to fund FOP research towards effective treatments and a cure.
• Product Donations: T-shirt donations or food/drinks for event or products for goodie bags for swimmers
What is in it for Sponsors?
Publicity/ Positive PR:
• Expected Wet Brett microsite impressions: 20,000+
• Expected event attendance: 1,000+ swimmers including age group swim clubs throughout the country, NJ high school swim teams, as well as collegiate swimmers at Princeton University including both the varsity and club teams.
• Media coverage: Event will be pitched to local and national media outlets: print, online and TV
• Local Impact:
• Increase your organization or business’ visibility on a local and national level
• Promote your business to the swimming community and area residents interested in health/fitness
Sampling: Goodie Bag, food/drinks at event
Tax Benefits: The IFOPA is a registered a registered charitable organization and holds 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. Tax ID # 59-2918100

Inaugural Event Success:
Last year, the inaugural Wet Brett Swim Challenge included 100 swimmer participants, over 150 donors and raised more than $29,000 for FOP research through IFOPA, the 501c3 umbrella organization for the disease. The funds will support an ongoing IFOPA grant for gene therapy research at the University of Massachusetts. The hope is to grow this effort into an annual, national event with many individual swimmers and swim teams participating as well as corporate sponsor support.

What is FOP?
FOP is an extremely rare, progressive disease where your body slowly changes your muscles and tendons into a second skeleton. Some bone growth is spontaneous, but bumps or trauma can also lead to flare-ups that cause additional bone growth. This bone growth progressively restricts movement and often leads to complete loss of mobility and becoming locked in place. Learn more at ifopa.org/what_is_fop
About Brett:

Brett Matlosz is a High School Sophomore at Newark Academy and a competitive swimmer for Metro Lifetime Fitness. Last year, he created an event called the “Wet Brett Wet T-Shirt Swim Challenge” in support of his 12-year-old cousin Sienna, who suffers from FOP.

About Sienna
Brett’s cousin Sienna is a vibrant, intelligent, 12-year-old with a great spirit and sense of humor and she loves to swim. She was diagnosed with FOP at the age of 2 and had been doing comparatively well with the disease. At the age of ten she had only minor stiffness in her neck and reduced range of motion in her arms. However, in March of 2021, Sienna had a fall which resulted in her losing complete mobility in her right hip and knee and is now in a wheelchair.

About the IFOPA (International FOP Association)
The IFOPA is the umbrella organization for people with FOP worldwide and the place for FOP families to come for advocacy, education and support. Their mission is to fund research to find a cure for FOP while supporting, connecting and advocating for individuals with FOP and their families, and raising awareness worldwide. Their vision is a cure for FOP, accessible worldwide. The IFOPA also provides hope to individuals with FOP and their families through education and support programs, raising awareness for this rare genetic condition, and funding research to find a cure. The IFOPA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Federal Tax ID #59-291-8100
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