We can't wait for this fun community swimming event to come back to our lake in July! Raising funds for children with disabilities to learn vital swimming skills and for our lake, the 24-hour Swim brings together sunrises, night swimming, teamwork and all the laughter.
Teamwork is dreamwork
What makes Clevedon Marine Lake extra special for swimming? Its community. Run by the community, swimmers in Clevedon come together regardless of age or background. They support each other, look out for each other... and come together to raise funds for our fantastic lake. The 24-hour relay swim is an event that celebrates this community. Teams of up to eight swimmers camp out around the lake and take it in turns to swim for an hour each. It's not a competition, there are no strict rules - it's just about having fun.
The event also raises vital funds for Clevedon Marine Lake and the charity that organises the event, Level Water. Because swimming is a vital life skill and an activity that includes people with physical and mental disabilities, it's a great leveller. Level Water raises money to pay for swimming lessons for children with disabilities. That means they can benefit from being in the water, being active and learning a skill that could one day save their lives.
It started in Clevedon
The 24-hour Swim started in Clevedon Marine Lake when a group of swimmers supported a team of Channel relay wannabes swimming for 24 hours in hour-long slots. In 2020, Level Water was struggling to fundraise, so a group of Clevedon swimmers organised another 24-hour swim to help them out. Level Water loved the event so much that they organised the first official swim in 2021 and it's grown from there!
Join in
There are a few spaces left for teams to join the fun. If you can swim or float constantly for an hour (any stroke, with a wetsuit or without), have some buddies you'd like to bring along and love a community event, then sign up now.
The challenge is simple. Gather a team of up to 8 swimmers and swim for an hour each, for 24 hours. It really doesn’t matter what your ability is. It’s not a race, no one is being timed or tracked. You swim as much as you want, as fast as you want.
The challenge is in the longevity, not just the finish line. It’s about keeping each other motivated and focused during the tricky night swims. It’s the hugs at the end of each hour knowing you’ve just ticked another hour off. It’s cheering each other on at 4am when tiredness feels inevitable and the sun just starts to rise. It’s being huddled around the fire sharing stories and hot chocolate and dancing around to keep warm.
It’s knowing that you’re doing it all to raise money for swimming lessons for children with disabilities. It’s knowing that one day, they might be able to take part in this challenge with their friends or family because of the efforts you are putting in to fundraise. It’s knowing you are using the power of your swimming to change lives.
“Truly a magnificent weekend. We are all still buzzing, some recovered, some still recovering but all buzzing and talking about the next and maybe getting more teams together because as we talk and tell others about how amazingly enjoyable, really well organised and fun it was and we had, others want to do it too.”
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