Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Hi my name is Katie i am a year 9 Student at South Charnwood High School and swim for Leicester Neptune Swimming club.

During the summer i swam in my first open water swimathon with some friends and raised some money for charity.

We enjoyed the event and looked forward to the next challenge which our coach joked about swimming the channel.

Me and and my friends discussed it was decided that we will try and swim the English Channel in 2019.

This event is one of the toughest challenges a swimmer can do, it is a minimum 21 mile swim as the crow flies with very strong tides and currents and some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Raising money for Aspire will mean that we can make a real difference to those who suffer from spinal injuries or conditions and help them lead normal lives through the assistance of Aspire.

In November we were assessed by Aspire for swimming the channel as a relay team and our whole team passed with flying colours. We learned a great deal about what Aspire do and also what challenges we will have to overcome when swimming in the English Channel.

Here are some of the things we will encounter:

• 21 miles of swimming minimum - will swim further due to tides
• Water temperature between 14 & 18 degrees centigrade
• Stinging jellyfish
• Swimming in complete darkness - Starting on the tide clock!
• Adverse weather conditions
• Rough seas
• Floating debris
• Fighting fatigue and hypothermia
• one of the busiest shipping lanes in the whole world

Please help me and the Aspire Neptune team raise money for this great cause.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.