Are you up for a Monster Challenge?
The Nessie Swim Challenge 2013 goes live on 1 February for six weeks. People are swimming the length of Loch Ness (22 miles) in their local pool (1400 lengths in a 25 metre pool). You can join the challenge as an individual or make up a team of friends and family to take on this monster swim in aid of Scottish Autism, Scotland’s autism charity.
Money raised will fund the charity’s Autism Support Team (AST) which has seen a massive increase in calls and enquiries to the advice line.
Carolyne Nurse, Scottish Autism’s Fundraising Manager says “Calls and emails to our advice team were up by over 70% in 2012. Some calls are from people in a crisis , others are parents struggling to adjust to a new diagnosis of their child. A growing number of calls are from people on the autistic spectrum who need help as a result of local authority cuts in services. To help meet this demand, we urgently need to raise funds. By taking part in our “Nessie Swim Challenge” you will help us achieve our vision of reaching everyone living with autism in Scotland, and get fitter and healthier into the bargain!”
In addition to swimming being an excellent form of exercise, it’s also a great sport for people with autism. It supports them in a safe environment and it can be repetitive and routine as well as fun and expressive. Swimming has been described by a young woman with Asperger’s Syndrome as ‘sensory heaven’.
The Nessie Swim Challenge can either be an individual challenge or as a team. The distance should be completed between 1 February and 15 March 2013. It’s up to each team to decide who does how many miles within those six weeks – as long as the team total is 22 miles. Every swimmer will receive a certificate and medal.
Teams will be asked to raise money for Scottish Autism by getting sponsored. Email us fundraising@scottishautism.org or phone 01259 720044 for a fundraising pack with registration form.
Below swimming is described by Debi Brown, an author on the autistic spectrum, in her book Are You Eating An Orange?
Swimming is really great. You can explore movement in three dimensions, you can get fit and people with autism can be very good swimmers as this is an activity which bad hand-eye co-ordination does not affect. Personally, I like swimming underwater as it is like being in a different world. It is sensory heaven. I chase bubbles made by the kicking swimmer in front and watch them rise to the surface. I swim deep along the bottom of the pool, almost flat along the bottom. I see the flickering pattern of sunbeams at one end of the pool as the waves on the surface make the sparkly bits flicker and jump about. If I can find a hoop, I practice swimming figure of eights through and under it. And, even if the pool is crowded and confusing above the surface, it is quiet, soft and tranquil below.
