The Event at Camps Bay High School. |
This past
Sunday on the 22nd of February Swimathon took place at Camps Bay
High School. It was just introduced this year for the first time in South
Africa and was a great success raising almost R25 000.
6301 laps
were swum in 7 hours by 8 teams with the team Cold Water Swimmers winning
overall. Team Tina won most spirited. There were about 80 determined swimmers in total taking part in this exciting relay event.
This will be
an annual event to raise money in the fight against MS and to create awareness.
Multiple Sclerosis is an often disabling condition that affects many people
throughout the world. It has an effect on the central nervous system which
causes the brain to struggle to communicate with the body. There is no cure as
of yet!
Claudia
Dieckmann, a MS sufferer herself, organized this event and I was lucky enough
to interview her. Read what she shared with me about Swimathon and MS
awareness:
Team Tina won most spirited. |
So
Claudia, first things first, how did Swimthon go?
Gosh! The
Swimathon surpassed my wildest expectations. I couldn’t have asked for more.
The Swimathon went so well.
The spirit
of the teams were incredible, the weather was unbeatable and we raised more
than R25 000 for MSSA.
We had great
sponsors, suppliers and supporters. Without them the Swimathon would not have
been possible.
Are there
any memorable stories from the event that stick out in your mind?
At the
moment, the event is a blur and I am overwhelmed by the generosity and
kindness of everyone involved.
We had so
many kinds of people take part, from a 7 year old right to those training for
triathons.
To choose
memorable moments would be too difficult, the whole event was amazing.
First Power Hour about to begin. |
Will
there be any more events taking place soon?
I’m still
recovering from this one but I want the Swimathon to be an annual event. Dates
and venues still to be confirmed.
There are
many fundraisers for MSSA to create awareness and necessary funds. So whether
you swim, run, bike, walk, hike or yoga…you can always do it for MS.
What was
special to you about this event?
The best
thing was seeing everyone having a good time, seeing the fruits of my labour
and getting the great feedback from participants.
I have also been blown away
by the kindness and generosity of people and companies.
Like someone
said, ’the reward is in the harvest.’
What did
you love about organizing Swimathon?
Arranging
the Swimathon was second nature to me as I come from a Marketing and Event
Management background. I used to be able to do all kinds of sports, now I can
only swim. MS has made sure of that.
I purely
decided to organize the Swimathon from love of swimming and the numerous
benefits it has on so many levels.
Also Swim
for MS is new to MSSA and the Swimathon had never been done in South Africa
before.
What did you find hard duirng the planning
stages?
The pool! |
It was tough organizing this on my own. Next time I
will have a committee.
Multiple Sclerosis has its limitations but I just have
to work with these.
What would you like to see more of within the
community of MS awareness?
There is so much that needs to happen in the world of
MS. Such as a cure in my lifetime to be found.
A big push this year is ‘access.’ Providing care,
medication and support to those that need it.
A huge thank you must go out to the
swimmers, volunteers, sponsors and supporters for a fantastic, fun and very
successful day!
Keep S'Myelin and keep swimming.
Look out for a more personal interview on Claudia about her
life with Multiple Sclerosis.
All photos done by Celeste Glass Photography.
https://www.facebook.com/celesteglassphotography
All photos done by Celeste Glass Photography.
https://www.facebook.com/celesteglassphotography
Link to the MSSA website.
The Swim
for MS awareness Facebook link
https://www.facebook.com/swim4ms?fref=nf
2 comments :
Thank you for showcasing Swim for MS Claudia did a fantastic job in the first Swimathon for MS in SA - it was a pleasure working with her in the background every step of the way. - MSSA WC Non Smit
I was happy to write about the swim for MS. Claudia appears to be a wonderful woman!
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