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By Greg Sandoval An urgent distress signal was issued on auction site eBay this week: Save Our Swim team. After the men's and women's swim teams at Dartmouth College were eliminated in a cost-cutting measure on Nov. 25, some of the swimmers decided to auction the team for a minimum bid of $212,000. Did the team members really believe they could hawk themselves on eBay or was the auction a publicity stunt to raise awareness of their plight? Jennifer Kunkel, a sophomore who swims the butterfly and backstroke for the Big Green, readily acknowledges it was the latter. "We initially put up the auction on eBay just to gain media attention and possibly bring it to the attention of school administrators," said Kunkel, 19. "We didn't anticipate that people would start sending us money." The auction didn't receive any serious bids and eBay removed the item from its site at about 4 p.m. yesterday. The company requires those who auction goods to own the items and there was some question as to whether the swimmers owned the team. Nonetheless, the auction received media attention in Canada and the United States, and Kunkel said people have inquired about making donations. The swim teams will continue to exist until the end of the season in March. At that time, the four-member coaching staff will be laid off. Since Ivy League schools don't offer athletic scholarships, the swimmers will remain in school. School officials did not return phone calls. Yet, Kunkel says, some swimmers may decide to leave. While they may not be on scholarship, the Dartmouth swimmers practice and compete just as hard as those who are, Kunkel said. "Many of us were recruited to compete here," said Kunkel. "I found out that I wouldn't be allowed to do something I've been doing since I was 7 years old." "I'm not allowed to do it because the school wanted to save $212,000. It represents less than 2 percent of the overall budget."
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