Most sport and fitness clubs and groups wouldn't be able to function without volunteers like these. Their get-up-and-go helps others stay healthy, make friends, enter competitions and more. Read on to find out what inspires them to make it happen for others.

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Monday Feb 25, 2008

The distances some can swim

Last week I had not attended the swimming club I volunteer at. When I caught up with others and asked how things had been I had been told it was tight in numbers. This meaning that there had been very few volunteers. With that in the forefront of my mind I had made sure that my sons swimming gear was packed the night before all ready for Friday!

We had arrived dead on 6pm and I had ushered my son into the changing rooms. All while trying to get him signed in and my shoes and socks off to go poolside. Fortunately I recognised some regular faces and proceeded up to the deep end to take a lane.

I was allocated a small group of five girls. (Between the ages of 8- 12).They had been asked to swim 8 lengths of front crawl. I had joined them when they were halfway through. The group were not too keen to be swimming front crawl and were trying to persuade me to let them change stroke. (No, it was not changed, just the amount cut down).

The group then cut in two after two of the girls approached the next lane to see what was going on. (There was just one boy in this lane and it appeard that he was going to be some diving work). They had joined the next lane and had started to swim back to the deep end. The other girls with me then asked what they were meant to be doing. At this point I was approached by one of the club founders to ask me if I would consider counting the lengths of my group to see what distance badges they could collect.

Awesome work!

I was given two girls in the end. One has been with the club 2+ years and was due to be swimming 32 lengths. The other girl had joined the club last October and had never been asked what sort of distances she could swim. (We have a badge night approx once every 6months). Both of the girls swam 32 lengths in approx 40 minutes. At the end of it they appeared as cool as cucumbers, not even a flush to the cheeks!!

The girls will hopefully collect their badge and certificate within the next two weeks.

More to come....

Next week my son will be attempting 24 lengths and my brother...100!!!! I am hoping that both will succeed. It would be an amazing feat.

Hope to bring you news of how it all went. xx

Posted by Louise ( 9:40 AM )
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Wednesday Feb 13, 2008

New year, new challenges

At the local swimming club I volunteer at there has been a loss. A loss of boys who have been at the club for 10+ years. For these boys it is a gain. A gain of independence- a move into the big wide world without family/ carers asking "where are you going, what are you doing?" Sound familiar to any of you?

The Challenge- These boys played a crucial part within the club, showing skills to other members when they were younger. Diving, life saving techniques, showing correct legwork for swim strokes. Taking their own small groups as they got older and their confidence increased.

The most crucial part of the club has however been held by two women who have both been recognised locally for their services. They are the founders and have been volunteering for the past 25+ years. These are the women who taught these boys to swim and gain confidence in the water.

We now at the club need to be able to recruit and retain swimming members and volunteers. Like everywhere else the rent has gone up but amazingly prices appear to have stayed the same for those who are club members. We even managed to have the inflatable island and give out a large bar of choc over the xmas period!!!! (No extra cost)

Will be waiting with anticipation to see how things pan out. For now it is still a blessing in disguise for my son and me. We certainly wouldn't be without it and I was really pleased when in the new year a group of children from my sons school joined.

That's it for now, lots of love, Louise xxx

Posted by Louise ( 1:09 PM )
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My birthday

 

I've been very lax about updating my blog recently.  Thankfully I've been less lax about training - I'm stepping up the cardio I'm doing, and am aiming to be doing around two hours, three times a week, by the end of April.  I think the fastest I can hope to do the 10k is around 90 minutes, but have a horrible suspicion it'll be significantly slower!

It's my birthday on Friday, and being a proper aged grown-up of almost 28, I've asked people not to bother with presents, but if they'd like to make an additional donation to my run, it would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Carrie ( 11:13 AM )
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