Ripley and Heanor Leisure Centres are inviting local people to sign up for a healthy New Year challenge to support Marie Curie Cancer Care in the local area and register for Swimathon 2007 “Get In and Swim” to take on the challenge of a hearty 5K swim at the event 22-25 March 2007.
Jackie Goacher, General Manager for the two sites, said: “Many people set themselves health goals in the new year. Swimathon 2007 is the perfect opportunity for everyone in Amber Valley to fulfil new year’s resolutions whilst raising much needed funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care services in the local community.”
Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality nursing, totally free, to give terminally ill people the choice of dying at home supported by their families. Swimathon 2007 will be bringing thousands of people together to make it the biggest swim fundraiser in the UK and to promote the health and fitness benefits of swimming.
Olympic gold medallist Duncan Goodhew, MBE who has supported Swimathon since its inception 21 years ago, said: “Swimming is both the nation’s most popular participation sport and one of the government’s targeted sports to reduce obesity – Swimathon 2007 is making swimming accessible to everyone in Amber Valley and we want to challenge local people to help us break all records this year to make it the biggest Swimathon fundraiser ever!”
Swimathon is open to everyone, inviting people to set their own personal challenge by accomplishing a distance of their choice – the ultimate 5K challenge, which requires at least six weeks of training; the 2.5K, perfectly challenging for the intermediate swimmer; and the 1.5K, for anyone who swims occasionally. For those interested in joining forces with friends, colleagues or family, the 5K challenge can also be completed as part of team of up to five people or if you prefer to do it all at your own pace, join the Simply Swim challenge, which allows you to cover any distance at any participating pool, any time. Swimathon will take place across 600 swimming pools nationwide, over four days - 22-25 March 2007.
Registration is open now at www.swimathon.org where you can also find more information about your local participating pools, fundraising, and training tips. Get In and Swim!
Register now at www.swimathon.org or call the Swimathon hotline on 0845 36 700 36. Standard registration is £8.50 (concessions £4.50).
Note to Editors
Amber Valley Borough Council and DC Leisure Management Ltd are working in partnership to provide leisure centre services in Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley. In April 2006 Amber Valley Borough Council entered into a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement with DC Leisure Management Ltd. Under the agreement, DC Leisure Management Ltd will transform the Council's leisure centres in Alfreton, Heanor and Ripley and manage them for up to 32 years. The project has attracted more than £15 million pounds worth of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits from Central Government. A PFI Initiative involves a public sector organisation entering into a partnership with a private sector organisation to deliver a service to higher standards and with greater investment than either could deliver individually. These partnerships are made possible through financial support from Central Government.
