Milton Keynes Rotary Club has been running an annual sponsored Swimathon since 1994, raising more than £500,000 over that time for local charities.
This year’s event saw Wolverton Swimming & Fitness Centre and Middleton Pool generously make their facilities available for the day to enable the Swimathon to take place.
Over 50 teams of six swimmers of all ages and abilities participated, swimming in relay for an hour. The event is great fun and a range of prizes were awarded. Three of this year’s prizes were won by company teams including Most Original Team Name (won by BSI), Most Sponsorship Raised by a Team (Melio) and Most Lengths Swum in an Hour (Sol Services).
Nine local charities received donations from this year’s Swimathon and each donation will be used to support a specific project or to maintain the vital community services they provide in Milton Keynes.
The charities were Camphill, Citizens Advice MK, Harry’s Rainbow, Hazard Alley, MK Community Cardio-pulmonary Group, MK SNAP, PSP Association, Q:alliance, and Willen Hospice.
In addition to teams entered by the charities themselves, other teams took part to raise money on behalf of the charities. Their enthusiastic participation brought a lot to the atmosphere on the day, contributing to the fun as well as to the amount of money raised.
For the first time since the event began, the 2023 Swimathon raised more than £30,000 – an achievement that would not have been possible without our business sponsors. The sponsors for this year’s event were: Yellowyoyo, Simplicity Finance, Paratus Partners, MK Wise Mortgage Protection and Advice, Jenco, Just Simply Change, Freelance Credit Control, MClairity and Olli Investments.
The Rotary MK Swimathon requires a great deal of advance planning and help on the day from Rotarians, friends and relatives. The organisers have sent out a Thank You to all those who helped make it happen and to all those that participated, as well as those who sponsored a swimmer or a swim lane.
Next year’s Swimathon will be held on February 24, and there will be opportunities to be a nominated charity, to enter a team and/or be a business sponsor.
To find out more about Rotary MK and the Swimathon go to www.rotarymk.org
If you are interested in finding out more about commercial sponsorship, how to get a charity involved and/or to take part as a swimmer, email Euan Henderson at euanscotthenderson@talktalk.net
