Last week the second Rockinghorse Relay took place at Sea Lanes on Brighton seafront, with 68 swimmers splashing through the night to fundraise.
The Relay saw swimmers take on a sponsored one-hour swim anytime during the 12-hour event, which started at 7pm and finished at 7am the following morning, at the stunning open air swimming centre on Madeira Drive.
It was a great opportunity for the participants to swim in the pool during the night when it’s normally closed to the public and everyone who took part really enjoyed the experience.
The event, which was kindly sponsored by Ace Scaffolding, kicked off with pupils from the nearby Roedean School’s swimming team taking to the water. The swimmers ranged from Yr7 to Yr13, all of whom had lots of experience of outdoor swimming, and they did a wonderful job to get things going.
Then it was time for the other swimmers to take on their challenge, some with colleagues from work and others just for the love of the sport. There was a team of six from Mayo Wynne Baxter solicitors who took it in turns to swim for the whole 12 hours, and another group of eight from Galloways Accounting Limited who swam for five hours.
Astrid and Rosa, Year 10 pupils at Roedean, were part of the initial group that kicked off the swim from the local girls’ school. They both enjoyed the experience and were keen to support a local charity.
After the swim Astrid said, “I’m really lucky to be able to swim and have such an amazing pool at Roedean, so if there’s something that I can do with that skill to give back to people then I’ll do it.”
Rosa added, “I did the swim to show how to be determined, and my friend also told me I would love it, and it was a lot of fun in the end. It was cold but you got used to it about halfway through.”
Another of the swimmers taking part early on was Lynne Mould, Matron from the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Rockinghorse Trustee. So far Lynne has raised and incredible £768
After the swim Lynne said, “I wanted to do my bit for the charity and swimming is something I really enjoyed so it seemed a good thing for me to do. It was hard, it was definitely a challenge. I love swimming but I’m not usually a cold-water swimmer, but I’m really pleased I did it!”
Georgia, one of the swimmers from the Mayo Wynne Baxter team, told us one of the reasons she chose to take part. She said, “My friend is a paediatrican and works with lots of children that get the benefit of the support from Rockinghorse.
“But in the end, it was my colleague Caroline’s idea to get a team together as a lot of us like swimming.”
Georgia’s colleague Rebecca added, “It was really exhilarating. I’m not a swimmer at all but it was quite fun. And the training was fun too – we trained as a team over a few nights, days and early mornings in Sea Lanes and Pells Pool in Lewes.
“I loved the idea of us doing a 12-hour swim and it’s a fantastic local charity so that really spurred us on.”
Mayo Wynne Baxter’s efforts have certainly paid off with the team raising a brilliant £2,524 between them.
An event like this wouldn’t be possible without our brilliant sponsors, Ace Scaffolding. Arthur East and Elliot Quant, Directors at the company, were keen to support the charity, saying, “We chose to support Rockinghorse because it means quite a lot to us. We grew up in this city and what they do for children in hospital here is extremely important.
“We’ve talked about it with a couple of people who’ve had children cared for in the hospital and they’ve also emphasised how important the charity was to them.
“Our business is also based in the city, and we feel it’s important to support a local charity like Rockinghorse where we can.”
Emma Henderson, Supporter Engagement Manager at Rockinghorse, organised the event and was blown away by the amount of money raised. She said, “We’ve had an amazing time this year and we’re so incredibly grateful to everyone who took part in this year’s swim.
“As it’s only our second year for this event we weren’t sure how it would go but it’s been wonderful. It’s a different kind of challenge but people seem to really relish it, whether it’s individual swimmers or work colleagues, it’s proved to be a great way to support us, and everyone seems to have enjoyed the chance to swim in this fantastic venue.
“A huge thanks to everyone who took part, to all our volunteers and of course to Ace Scaffolding for sponsoring the event and taking part! See you all next year!”
As a thank you to all the participants, everyone was given a Rockinghorse badge and a congratulations medal picture, coloured in by children from Hurst School Prep and St. Christopher’s Prep School in Hove.
If you would like to take part in a Rockinghorse event, take a look at what’s on offer here.
