Hello

Thank you so so much for sponsoring our 24 hour relay swim. You have helped us raise over £2,200 or to put it another way an amazing 146 1:1 swimming lessons for children with disabilities and we are delighted to say that some of these will be swimming lessons in Swindon for children local to us.

We were just one of over 40 teams taking part in this endurance swim at Lake 32 this weekend raising in total an amazing £50,000 for Level Water.

So how did we get on? Well with our camp of tents, wetsuits, hot water bottles and more than enough food to fuel us for at least a week one of us was in the water for an hour at a time for 24 hours from 12pm on Saturday till 12pm on Sunday. We were blessed with sunshine, only a little wind and just a sprinkling of rain in the wee hours. We were blown away by how far we swam - 48kms between us - the community spirit at the event and other 250 people we met and swam with. The sunset swim was glorious and the nighttime swims a new and amazing experience for all of us.

Thank you again for you donation and all the supportive messages that kept us all going through particularly through the night swims!

On the weekend of 23rd-24th September our team of 8 are taking part in a relay swim, whereby at least one of us must always be moving in the water over the 24 hr period. We hope to be swimming in the autumn equinox sunshine and star lit waters. Being in a fresh water lake in the UK, however, we could have any sort of weather...

Our team of 8 is made up of 7 women and 1 man, ranging in age from 16 to 50+ . We are united by our love of swimming and the passionate belief that it is a life skill that should be accessible to all. None of us have done a challenge like this before and we have had to put a fair bit of work into getting fitter and used to colder waters.

We are doing this to raise money for Level Water; a UK charity that provides swimming lessons for children living with disabilities.

Swimming is like nothing else. The skills you develop, the confidence you build and the joys you feel are all universal. The water takes your weight; it’s a true leveller. It relieves pain and offers freedom and independence that many children never experience elsewhere.

Every £15 we raise will pay for one swimming lesson for a child in the UK living with disabilities. If we meet our fundraising target, Level Water will be able to provide swimming lessons to 106 children.

Swimming for children with disabilities is the biggest unmet need in sport. Please sponsor us so that more children get the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water.

Thanks!

Anna, Gina, Helen, Jo, Michael, Rachel, Rosie, Ruth

https://www.levelwater.org/