Hi everyone - thanks for looking at this page. Swimming has become an increasingly important part of my year. One of my swims this year is the exhilarating 6k Bantham Swoosh which starts at Aveton Gifford at dawn on the 14th of July. I was lucky enough to get a charity place to fund raise for Aveton Gifford Community Pool and hope you can help me raise funds for this great project and crucially motivate me to train before the big day!

It's rare and invaluable to have a facility like this and I'm really proud to be doing a little bit to support them. Below is some more information about the importance of the pool to the local community...

"Learning to swim at Aveton Gifford has always been essential as we live so close to the sea, and the river is part of the village. There has been a swimming pool at the village primary school since 1963, and since then hundreds and hundreds of children have been taught to swim. It’s always been important both for safety and for health and wellbeing, but in these days of public funding cuts and the reduction of sports in school curriculums, it’s become even more so.

"We’re only a small village and our school isn’t large either – at present there are about 100 children there. Our community has taken over the running of the pool now (see our web page – http://www.aveton-gifford.co.uk/facilities/swimming-pool ) and we are determined to keep it open for them and all the other families in the parish. We’d like to thank you all for your interest and support for our pool, and to inspire our own children with a love of swimming – and who knows, with your help, maybe they will be swimming the Swoosh in years to come!
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What's not to love...I get to swim the iconic Bantham Swoosh and at the same time support others to learn to love swimming and stay safe.

Thank you!