Take the plunge and swim for a good cause

The Melton Lions Swimarathon will be held at Waterfield Leisure Centre on Saturday, April 16, with children and adults, both able bodied and disabled, set to take part once again in 55 minute slots.

Charities and other causes which will benefit from the event - now in its 16th year - are the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance, Melton Mencap, Melton Mayor Jeanne Douglas’s appeal for The Belvoir Castle and Countryside Trust and Emmaus, and various local projects supported by the Lions.

Sabrina Tate, events organiser for Melton Lions, said she was hoping for another big entry of teams.

She said: “Enter a team and swim because it is a fun event for all ages and levels of competence. We urge you to have a go and enjoy yourself. The main satisfaction however, will be to raise a healthy sum of money for local charities.

“Teams are usually made up of six people who are prepared to swim as many lengths of the pool as they can manage in 55 minutes, taking it in turns to swim. The main objective is to raise money for charity and we ask each team member to find sponsors.

“Do not be put off by the event title. No team or individual is being asked to swim an unduly long distance, the average being 20 lengths per person.

“There are no hard and fast rules about how a team should organise itself, as long as there is only one team member swimming at a time. Some may like to swim a length in turn; others may want to split the time among themselves. All we ask is that inexperienced or out of condition swimmers do not try to exceed their capacity.

“There will be several trophies for certain categories including one for the most original team name, so get your creative thinking cap on.”

Swimming times will start on the hour from 10.30am-5.30pm. Teams will not be competing against each other, neither will individuals.

To get an entry form for this year’s Swimarathon email Mrs Tate at [email protected] or call her on 07860 102223.