I am in a team of six swimmers who will attempt to swim across the English Channel in August 2024 to raise funds for Aspire's amazing work. Aspire works through the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation and sends channel swimmers out each year in support of improving the lives of SCI people. The opportunity to raise money for Aspire Charity is a gift in itself.

ABOUT ASPIRE:

Aspire is a national charity which provides practical help to people with spinal cord injury (SCI), supporting them from injury to independence. There is currently no cure for SCI, people with SCI will lose muscle and sensory control and a large majority will become full time wheelchair users for the rest of their lives. Aspire works to move people from injury to independence.

ABOUT ME:

I love to challenge myself. I've completed long distance walks, marathons, climbed mountains and abseiled. I've skied on water, alpine slalom, bigfoot and landlau. I've flown, para-glided, sailed, wind-surfed, snorkled, potholed and presented exercise classes from the podiums at Earls Court and at Olympia. I've danced a marathon and I've "sung". And more. But prior to the pandemic I had not entered any open water swim events.

Born in Margate, Kent and virtually raised in a beach hut, I gained my love of the sea in my infant years. But we moved away and I became involved club swimming until my mid-teens. Then study and work closed the door on swimming for a long time. I drifted back when I heard about an annual 5k swimathon taking place locally to me in Berkshire. Amazingly, I achieved this without preparation and was inspired to do it again as a team relay event with friends and family. I returned to pool swimming once a week.

Then one weekend, whilst out on a coastal walk to Samphire Hoe, I met Sarah Thomas. It was the day before her big, record breaking 4-way channel swim. We chatted for some time and Sarah was most inspiring. But whilst I like a challenge, the idea of a solo channel swim even one way, was beyond my ability.

Finally we found the Hythe swimming community in late 2021 and I re-discovered sea swimming.

I swum in the sea at Hythe over the next couple of winters and I started to meet and swim with people who had either swum the channel solo or in a relay team.

Then in 2023, I came across Emma's Dover Channel Swimming group whilst they were training at Hythe. Emma directed me to Aspire, a national charity that fund raises through sponsored events like cross channel swims. I've previously helped various organisations including but not only, a Cancer Research group, Macmillan Nurses, NSPCC and the GDBA.

I have a cousin who had a motor bike accident at the aqe of just 17 years. He became severely disabled and in need of the type of support that Aspire offer. He is now in his 80's and I have seen how tough life is for people in his situation and how valuable any support is. This time, I followed through and was invited to take part in the November timed qualifier event at the Aspire hospital pool in Stanmore, London. I got through and was invited to be part of the Jaguars relay team in August 2024.

The "Jaguars" team was selected on qualities such as ability, commitment and potential compatibility. We come from different parts the UK and beyond so we are now all training hard independently and will train together as a team once the sea warms up.

If you would like to SUPPORT Aspire and the amazing work they do, and help to fund-raise on their behalf, I would appreciate whatever amount you can afford.

Thank you

Alison