The Lions Sponsored Swim
The Southwell Lions Club Sponsored Swim – October 2016
Report by Mac Crisp
I did the sponsored swim on Saturday 15th October with fellow Sherwood Archer David Salmon. He certainly lives up to his name. Last year he did this event on his own. They allow a team of up to 6 members to complete up to a maximum of 50 lengths total in a 15 minute window. Last year, since he was on his own in a team of one, plus he had the last slot, they allowed David a little more time and he completed the 50 lengths in 19 minutes. I offered to give him a hand this year, not knowing if he would get the extra time. I suggested that in 15 minutes I might expect to contribute between 15 and 20 lengths. In the end we completed our 50 total lengths with masses of time to spare. I did 18 lengths and David lived up to his name by swimming twice as fast as me for all but my first four lengths. I had to slow down to keep going, but still he put in 6 to my 4! Thereafter I would put in 2, pause at the turn while David arrived just behind me. He would tumble turn and I’d follow behind. According to the wall clock it took us about 9 minutes to do the 50 lengths between us, so I must have been going at just around 30 seconds per length and David must have averaged 17 seconds per length. That is quite some going. The previous year worked out at more like 22 seconds per length. My fellow lodger, Howard, is a bit of an ex swim club regular, and in his prime he reckoned that for 200m (8 lengths) he would average 14 seconds each, so he is also well impressed with David’s times, but also with mine, and has already coughed up his sponsorship money. All but one of my sponsors have said they will sponsor a fixed amount whatever, and of those folks my total is £102.50. My one and only sponsor per length said he would do a pound per length, so I am due to break £120. 75% of the money is going to the archery club to contribute towards the new club house, the other 25% goes to the Southwell Lions club, who organised the event. They invite all sorts of local clubs and societies to join them and so it becomes a win / win situation. They get more participants and a portion of the cash. The individual clubs get to run a sponsored event without the overheads of organising it. The Lions club did actually have to pay for the hire of the pool for the duration of the event, which I was surprised to discover. I thought the leisure centre might have donated those hours. But apparently the leisure centre itself is run as a not for profit local charity, so it’s a bit of a weird situation. If they had donated the pool time then perhaps the Lions club would have made them a donation from the proceeds. As it stands, I doubt it!
I didn’t move to Southwell until November last year and got involved with the archery club after that, so I missed the round of sponsorship for the same event last year. There was a big push on at the club then to raise money for the first part, laying the foundations, of the new clubhouse. Most of David’s sponsors were apparently all from within the club, yet he raised over £500 and was awarded the Lions Club shield for the most money raised that year. I think I have stolen some of David’s expected sponsors this year, as nearly all of mine are also club members. I did not manage to get around work or family before disappearing to Canada for a couple of weeks, and from what I heard, neither did David this year, so not expecting to bring the shield home again this year. I know just 9 minutes does not sound like a lot, but it really took it out of me. I was so exhausted that I slept past 11:00am the next morning! Perhaps I was also still a little jet-lagged.
Can it really be less than a year since I took up archery again? – It seems like much longer as I have been so involved. MAC