Swimarathon to benefit Cardiac Action Group

ORGANISERS of the Skipton Swimarathon have named the Cardiac Action Group as the main beneficiary of the 2019 event.

Left to right: Declan Maginnis and Caroline Aylward from Skipton, Mike Froome, Jerry Le Roy from the Cardiac Action Group Committee, Aaron Walden from Skipton, Rob Holder from the Lions Club and chairman of the Swimarathon committee Nick Guillemette.

The charity needs additional funding to meet the costs of promoting Public Access Defibrillator sites and offering free training to islanders.

It runs courses teaching people how to use the Automatic External Defibrillators, administer CPR and deal with somebody suffering cardiac arrest.

With 40 PADs now installed around the island and a further 10 in planning, it is hoped that proceeds from this year’s Swimarathon will cover costs for a further year.

Skipton Swimarathon committee chairman Nick Guillemette said: ‘This year the Skipton Swimarathon Organising Committee received 20 applications for various projects, all with their own merits, but the Cardiac Action Group’s plea for urgent support to enable them to continue this proven and well-documented life-saving service touched the hearts of all of us.

‘We hope that this year everyone will support the Swimarathon and get behind this project. I’d like to think that for every pound that our swimmers raise, it could be saving someone’s life.’

Community resuscitation development officer Mike Froome has been selected as the 2019 Swimarathon Ambassador.

He has been working with the charity for the last two years, delivering training, raising awareness of cardiac arrest and monitoring the PAD sites to ensure they remain operational.

Mr Froome said: ‘It is so important that as many islanders as possible are aware of the PAD sites on the island and familiar with what to do should someone suffer a cardiac arrest. We have a free app available that can guide people to an AED, but we would encourage as many as possible to attend the training courses.

‘We are so thankful that the Swimarathon have chosen to support our project as with full use of the equipment I’m sure more can be encouraged to restart a heart and save a life.’

n Since the PAD project was set up in 2016 over 1,500 people have received training, with five AEDs having been used to resuscitate arrest victims.

The Skipton Swimarathon will take place between 2 and 6 October, with registration open to the public from 1 July 2019 at www.swimarathon.org.