Skipton Swimarathon ‘tiring but rewarding’

SCHOOLS, businesses and local organisations are taking over Beau Sejour as part of this week’s Skipton Swimarathon challenge.

Lucy Smart, Body Zone manager, was swimming as part of the leisure management team from Beau Sejour in the Skipton Swimarathon. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 25980983)

Amherst Primary School, Guernsey Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre and St Mary & St Michael School children all dived into the pool yesterday to take part in the challenge to raise money for this year’s main beneficiary Cardiac Action Group.

Participants at the event, which runs from 2-6 October, said as much as they enjoyed the event, the fact that the money was also going to charity was a huge boost for them taking part.

‘It’s really tiring, but fun,’ said Year 5 Amherst Primary School pupil Freddie Wakelin, 9.

‘We’re trying to beat the Year 6s as they’re one ahead of us at the moment, we’re all doing our best.

‘It’s great that the money goes to charity because it really makes you feel good.’

Freddie Wakelin, 9, was part of the Amherst School Year 5 team. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 25980987)

Connor McKenna from the Grammar School said it was great to get to do the challenge as part of a team.

‘Our team has raised over £100 for charity,’ he said.

‘We’re doing this as a group of five, which is a small team, but it’s for a good cause, we’ll be knackered by the end of it though.’

Staff from Beau Sejour have also been taking part in the event.

Gym manager Lucy Smart said as a centre providing support and activities for the community, it was another way for them to help give back to people within the community.

‘We’ve got a fairly new team, so this a good team-bonding event,’ she said.

‘We’re getting pretty tired now, but it’s been good fun, we’re lucky to have one of the fastest swimmers in the island in Jonny Beck, but there’s a whole mix of abilities.

All the swimmers at the challenge have so far collectively already raised nearly £15,000.

Cardiac Action will use the money raised to assist with their public access defibrillators [PAD] project, enabling them to provide free PAD site awareness and CPR and automated external defibrillator training for another year.

Year 5 and 6 children from St Mary & St Michaels, left to right, Sofia Gois, Lola Trustom-Rault, Amelie Carre, Star Tagoe and Alix Le Noury. (25981601)

Cardiac Action community resuscitation development officer Mike Froome said the money raised would be extremely beneficial to them.

‘There’s a great turnout and all the money raised will do so much for us,’ he said.

‘When I first started, nobody had used any of the PADs throughout the island, but now with training and monitoring using fundraising money, five people have used them and three people have survived – what we do is essential in saving lives.’