NEWSFEED

The 2018 Swimathon Foundation Community Grants Scheme opened on Friday 2 February and is inviting applications from groups and individuals who aim to provide and promote swimming in their local community.

On 7-9 April, 18,500 swimmers across the UK took on their distance swimming challenge for Marie Curie at the 30th anniversary Swimathon event. Over the course of the event, thousands of swimmers took to over 600 swimming pools to challenge themselves and raise money for charity with either an individual or team challenge. Marie Curie Arlene Main, Event Fundraising Manager said: “I want to say a huge congratulations to all the swimmers who took part at the weekend and completed their challenges. All the money raised will make a big difference in helping Marie Curie provide care and support for people living with a terminal illness and their families.” Olympic gold medalist Duncan Goodhew and the sporting soprano Laura Wright were heading up this year’s campaign. Duncan visited a number of pools across the weekend whilst Laura took on a 5k team challenge with her family. Swimathon President and Olympic gold-medallist Duncan Goodhew said: “This year was extra special with it being the 30th Swimathon event. Since we held the first Swimathon all those years ago, it has been an amazing journey to see the event grow to what it is today and to have raised more than £46 million pounds for various charities. The atmosphere was really brilliant at every pool and the reaction on social media seemed to show that it was like that across the country. I want to thank everyone who got involved, they’ve really done a great job both in the pool and with their fundraising for Marie Curie, to help support their wonderful work.” Marie Curie is the official charity of Swimathon 2017. Marie Curie is the UK’s leading charity for people with any terminal illness. The charity helps people living with a terminal illness and their families make the most of the time they have together by delivering expert hands-on care, emotional support, research and guidance. Last year, Marie Curie cared for and supported over 50,000 people affected by terminal illness across the UK. If you have questions about terminal illness, need support or just want to talk, call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk. It’s for anyone affected by terminal illness, including family and friends. You can relive some of the highlights of this year’s event by searching #Swimathon17 on Twitter. Full details about Swimathon can be found at; www.Swimathon.org.

We encourage people do get out and about as much as possible so we get asked about safety a lot. The Wild Swimming Brothers are keen advocates for open water swimming, and have swum in rivers, tarns and lakes across the world.

The mass start is something the Wild Swimming Brothers have struggled with various times at the start of a race. The start can be very difficult, and off putting, as it’s not something you can really prepare for when training.

Middle Brother Calum and Younger Brother Jack, ambassadors for this year’s Open Water Swimathon have recorded some videos full of tips and advice ahead of the big day. The Wild Swimming Brothers are keen advocates for open water swimming, and have swum in rivers, tarns and lakes across the world.