Forget the chill - "Share the Warmth." That concept was made a reality by the Birmingham-Bloomfield Atlantis Swim Club, which hosted a swim meet Jan. 16-18 at Waterford Mott.

With the theme of "Share the Warmth," all participants and guests were encouraged to donate a hat, scarf or pair of mittens. Each swimmer who donated an item was entered in a drawing for an iPod Mini drawn each day of the meet.

BBA collected 12 large bags of hats, mittens and scarves, which were then donated to the Salvation Army. This is the first year that the swim team has hosted a swim meet with this theme. Teresa Pilibosian, meet director, said, "We feel this year, especially, was a great year for the swimmers to give back to their community."

More than 560 swimmers participated in 84 events and were from areas as far away as Dearborn, Romeo, Novi, Lake Orion and Jackson.

The young swimmers from the Atlantic Swim Club are (from left) Connor Saeli, Frankie Misra, Evan Burke, Cooper Belanger, Will Erichson, Alessandro Guittilla and Noah Smith.