Swimming laps in support
More than 100 people will stroke their way through 12 hours of continuous swimming at the Woree Sports and Aquatic Centre tonight as part of the MS Swimathon.
MORE than 100 people will stroke their way through 12 hours of continuous swimming at the Woree Sports and Aquatic Centre tonight.
The MS Swimathon will raise funds to help people living with multiple sclerosis.
The condition affects more than 230 people in Far North Queensland and 23,000 people in Australia.
Cairns Stingrays Swimming Club president Jason Salecich said the swim, which starts at 6pm tonight and runs until 6am tomorrow, was one of the club’s favourite events.
“We suffer for 12 hours in the pool to raise money for people who have to live with a lifetime of suffering,” he said.
“We have 120 swimmers this year, which is 40 more than we had swimming with us last year.”
He said the best part about the event was that anybody could join in.
“A lot of people who compete are swimmers, but not everybody is. That’s the good thing, all you need to do is a couple of laps and then someone else can take over,” he said.
“The Stingrays think it’s great because it’s like a really long, fun training event for them.”
He said the idea of swimming for 12 hours was daunting for some, but there was always someone to take over when the going got tough.
“I usually do the 3am laps, after all the kids have fallen asleep. I think it’s quite good, it’s nice and peaceful during that time,” he said.
“We get people who are going to participate in Ironman taking part. They use it to see where they’re at with their training. That’s really good because it takes the pressure off the kids.”
He said the fundraising efforts of everyone involved at the Woree Sports and Aquatic Centre had been the biggest in the state last year, with $25,000 raised between the teams.
“We’ve already well surpassed that this year. It’s the fifth year we’ve been involved and we’ve raised the largest amount of money in the state. ” he said.
“It feels really good to have already gotten a bigger donation result.”
The money raised by the swimmers will go towards finding a cure for MS.
MS is a central nervous system condition. It interferes with nerve impulses in the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
More than two million people are diagnosed with MS worldwide, most of which fall between the ages of 20 and 40.
The condition is more prevalent in women than men with about three times as many women suffering.
Four people are diagnosed with the condition every working day in Australia.
The money raised from the MS Swimathon will also go towards essential services like information workshops on how to manage their diagnosis, home visits for people living in regional areas, emergency respite and long-term accommodation.