Everyone should have the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water.

This team would not have been possible with out it. A group of year round regulars at Shepperton Open Water Swimming persuading their nearest and dearest (and beyond) to join us for an icy dip. A summers night swim. And now for an endurance event.

'It's a fun hobby that we enjoy' became the mantra for a few of us as we prepared to slide into winter water. If you repeat it enough the water feels tropical. I swear.

And it was one of these sessions that reminded us about Level Water 24 hour event. We shall see if the statement applied to 24 hours of swimming as much as it does winter swimming.

Swimming is like nothing else. The skills you develop, the confidence you build and the joys you feel are all universal. Yet access to swimming in the UK is not.

At Level Water, we use the power of swimming to improve lives for children with disabilities.

Everyone should have the opportunity to learn to swim and fall in love with the water.