Superb Swimming for MS

The Event at Camps Bay High School.

This past Sunday on the 22^nd 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

Link to the MSSA website.

http://multiplesclerosis.co.za/

The Swim for MS awareness Facebook link

https://www.facebook.com/swim4ms?fref=nf