Laps for Life 2024
Laps for Life REACHOUT 2024 – Aqualicious, Brisbane Southside & North Mackay Sinkers Masters Swimming Clubs
Hot on the heels of the February Starlight Super Swim was another community fundraiser with the Laps for Life REACHOUT March event. A great sign of community involvement with another 3 MSQ clubs participating in this worthwhile event. Naturally it involved swimming and lots of it! Great preparation for the upcoming MSQ State Championships in Brisbane and the MSA National championships in Darwin.
March 2024 was the month that REACHOUT hosted the Laps for Life March Fundraising swim.
REACHOUT Australia: Is the leading online mental health service in Australia supporting young people during tough times. ReachOut helps young people feel better about today and the future, no matter what challenge they’re facing. They provide a safe place where young people can openly express themselves, explore what’s happening in their lives, connect with people who understand their situation, and find the resources to help them manage their challenges now and in the future.
The Swim: Whether you’re new to the water or a competitive swimmer, you can get involved any way that suits you.
- Swim anywhere you like
- You can swim laps at your local pool, hit the beach or take part in an ocean swim!
- Swim as far as you can
- Set a goal that suits you, and use our handy lap calculator to decide how many sessions you’ll need.
- Swim whenever it suits you
- You don’t need to swim every day, just pick the days and times that suit your lifestyle.
- Swim whatever style you want
- Whether it’s freestyle, backstroke, butterfly or doggy-paddle, just get swimming!
The challenge goes on for ONE MONTH
Laps for Life takes place from 1–31 March each year, and you can swim at any time throughout the month.
MSQ Teams: This year the North Mackay Sinkers along with the Aqualicious and Brisbane Southside Masters Swimming Clubs participated in this event, all again quite unknown to each other’s involvement. A total of 15 registered swimmers across the 3 clubs matching February’s effort in clubs and swimmers. The clubs raised a collective grand total of $8,474 that will benefit the wellbeing of youth mental health.
This is the second year for the Sinkers and it is a great activity for members to rally around and worth putting on your club schedule for 2025, it’s a March event every year.
Some further impressive distances by individuals from the various teams were recorded and added nicely to other MSQ programs such as the Million Metres and Lane Warriors for instance. The three clubs recorded 435km (8,700 laps of a 50m pool!)
All of these swimming related events are worthwhile and well worth participating in at club level with most providing opportunity for individuals as well to benefit by the extra swimming on offer. Register and have some fun and regardless of the funds raised being big or small enjoy a great event with your club members.
All Teams: The event attracted some 10,518 participants across the Nation who swam some 97,247km and raised a fantastic total of $3,417,915 dollars for youth mental health.
Next Charity Events:
- MS Super Splash (formerly MS Swimathon) Various dates across Qld. The MS Super Splash is an action-packed fundraising challenge held in different locations across Queensland, supporting people living with MS. With eight action-packed events across Queensland, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved! More info here
Article with thanks to Dan Stampa, QNS North Mackay Sinkers, April 2024
