On Monday 31st of January, Lancaster University’s Swimming and Water Polo club (LUSWP) swam for a staggering 15 hours to raise money for Mind mental health charity.
Following the success of the event in 2020, LUSWP smashed this years fundraising target of £750, raising over £2000 – at the time of writing – as well as beating their swimming goal, covering the equivalent of 402,775 metres. This feat drastically surpasses their 2020 total of 286,000 and is the equivalent of swimming from Lancaster to Brighton.
LUSWP’s gruelling 15-hour challenge was motivated by Mind, a mental health charity that provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. With 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health issue of some kind each year, LUSWP felt passionate in raising money for the charity.
As members of a sports team, LUSWP “really value the time they get in the pool to help with stress levels and other mental challenges, so felt that dedicating a swim to a charity that can help others cope with their mental health was a hugely important project.”
“We thought what better way to raise money than to make the most of our strong team environment.”
LUSWP
As previously mentioned, LUSWP completed this same challenge in 2020 and are now aiming to “hopefully turn this charity fundraiser into an annual event for the club.”
This year’s special mentions have been awarded to Chloe, Emma, Tom WH, Sean P and Olivia S who all swam over 15k. Considering that the longest Olympic swimming distance is 10km in the marathon swimming, which was a new addition in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, these efforts are incredible.
President Grace Spong was delighted with LUSWP’s efforts expressing that she’s “beyond proud of the hard work and ethic of LUSWP.”
“We absolutely smashed the record out the park and I hope this tradition can continue for years to come. Thank you to everyone who participated in any way and special thank you to those who donated, and to Sultans of Lancaster and Red Bull Lancaster for supplying us with the goods to get through our 15 hours.”
GRACE SPONG, PRESIDENT OF LUSWP
To donate to LUSWP’s fundraiser, follow the link here
To visit Mind, follow the link here
