Swimmers Unite for Flood Relief
In the wake of the devastation caused by extensive flood waters in Queensland and NSW, Swimming Australia has enlisted the support of the country’s best swimmers to help lend a hand in raising money to help those affected.
WAIS swimmers Blair Evans, Rhys Mainstone and Travis Nederpelt will be conducting a Swim Clinic for Flood Relief on behalf of their City of Perth Club at Challenge Stadium on Friday 21 January from 9.30. Tickets are $10 per child with all proceeds going to help the flood relief effort.
Queensland has a proud history of producing champion swimmers and those elite athletes and their interstate colleagues have jumped in to pledge money and support for flood relief in Queensland and NSW.
Led by pledges of support and donations from Brenton Rickard on the Gold Coast, Queenslander Alicia Coutts and Cameron Prosser who live in Canberra, Marieke Guehrer in Melbourne, Emily Seebohm in Brisbane and Blair Evans in Perth, swimmers will band together across the nation to host a number of fundraising clinics in their home states.
In all, more than 40 members of the Australian Swim team past and present will unite to host swimming events in Queensland, Victoria, the ACT and Western Australia as well as pledging a percentage of their winnings at the upcoming Summer Swim Series to aid flood relief.
With more than half the Australian Swim Team from Queensland, these devastating floods have touched the lives of many in the swimming community and both Rickard and Coutts see these activities as a small way to be able to give back and raise awareness for what will be a long and determined recovery.
“I can’t imagine what the people located in the flood ravaged areas of Queensland are going through at the moment,” said five-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Coutts.
“If by donating prize money and our time, we can provide some assistance and encourage others to provide support, I hope we can in some small part assist in what will be a huge and lengthy clean up.”
For Rickard, who was born in Brisbane and now trains on the Gold Coast, the will to help out where possible this week has been very strong.
“As a Queenslander this has been a week we’ll never forget and the challenge for Australia is to make sure we do everything possible to help these people who have been affected as quickly as possible,” said Rickard.
“If in putting on some swim clinics and donating prize money, we can help spread the word about flood relief that’s fantastic, and hopefully that will encourage others to help in what is going to be a huge rebuilding effort for the entire nation.”
At Brothers Swim Club in the North of Brisbane, triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Emily Seebohm is looking to hold a swim-a-thon from 7.00pm to 7.00am on Friday 21 January and swim more than 50km with teammates looking for pledges of support towards flood relief.
Swimming Australia will also encourage swimmers to donate signed tracksuits and swimming uniforms to flood relief while members of the Australian Swim Team will hold the following fund raising events to raise money and awareness for flood relief:
City of Perth – Swim Clinic for Flood Relief
Swim with Australian stars Blair Evans, Rhys Mainstone and Travis Nederpelt
Where: Challenge Stadium
When: Friday 21 January from 1.00pm
Details: $10 per child with all proceeds going to flood relief
For further information contact Swimming WA on 08 9328 4599