Record-Breaking Swimarathon Raises Over £21,000 for Local Charities

Record numbers of swimmers made a big splash for charity at Lynn and Hunstanton at the weekend. They were taking part in the annual Swimarathons organised by King’s Lynn Priory and Hunstanton & District Rotary Clubs.

Overall there were 51 teams of up to 6 swimmers at Alive St James, King’s Lynn and Alive Oasis, Hunstanton, covering a combined total of 7,600 lengths of the 25 metre pools, a distance of nearly 120 miles, while raising money for their chosen charities.

Teams included youngsters from West Norfolk Autism Group, Little Miracles, Little Discoverers and the Lavender Hill Mob Theatre Group, as well as many fantastic swimmers from the West Norfolk Swimming Club who entered 12 teams in all.

In addition to about £15,000 raised by the swimmers, a further £7,000 was contributed from the generous sponsorship of local businesses, leaving the Rotaries with over £21,000 after costs. The funds will be presented to the charities at presentation evenings in Lynn on March 1st and at Hunstanton on a date to be confirmed.

Charities entering teams and benefitting from the event included the Gateway Café, the Norfolk Hospice, Break Children's Homes, the Purfleet Trust, West Norfolk Autism Group, Norfolk and Waveney Mind, West Norfolk Riding for the Disabled, Little Discoverers, West Norfolk Community Transport, the QEH Rehab Unit, Little Miracles, the Lavender Hill Mob Theatre Company, the 8:56 Foundation, West Norfolk Tennis for Health, Mr Bees, and Scarlett Cole’s CP Journey.

Ken Banks, heading up the event at King’s Lynn, paid a special ‘thank you’ to the pool staff from Alive Leisure, to all the volunteers on the day, and to the main sponsors Adrian Flux at King’s Lynn and Specsavers at Hunstanton. He said “it was a fantastic day with a great atmosphere of fun and enthusiasm from all who took part. At the end of the day, the amounts raised for charity were well beyond our expectations, making the whole event incredibly worthwhile”.

Next year’s events are provisionally booked for Saturday February 8th, where the Rotaries hope that this magnificent total can yet again be surpassed.

In 2023 the Swimarathon raised over £14,000 and supported a wide range of local charities.