Skipton Swimarathon 2011 beneficiaries announced

This year, the main beneficiaries of the monies raised from the Skipton Swimarathon will be split between Young People Guernsey and the new extreme sports park at the Beau Sejour centre. The decision has been made by the Skipton Swimarathon Committee after reviewing several applications from a range of worthy causes on Guernsey.

Now in its 35th year, the Swimarathon has been a major provider to charities and those in need throughout Guernsey, and this year is no exception. Jeff Kitts, Skipton Swimarathon Chairman said: It was a difficult choice this year, as we had so many applications from lots of great projects and charities. This year we tried to strike a balance between charitable support, and development of young people through sport ? which has been a key objective of our Swimarathon work.?

The Skipton Swimarathon proceeds will help to create a support centre for vulnerable young people on Guernsey aged between 11 to 16 years old. The Young People Guernsey centre will provide youngsters with professional guidance and counselling in a safe supportive environment and as a result, help them make key life decisions. The project will be run in partnership with Barnardo's, a specialist in this field.

The second beneficiary of funds raised by the Skipton Swimarathon will be the new extreme sports park being created near the Beau Sejour centre for children to ride skateboards and BMX bikes. The park will be the first of its kind in Guernsey and aims to provide a safe area for children off the streets. The Skipton Swimarathon has a special connection to the Beau Sejour centre, and so was keen to support this innovative community development.

Previous recipients of Swimarathon monies have included: the Ron Short centre, which purchased a new minibus for the centre's use; The Western Parishes Community Centre; an ambulance and rescue ambulance for St John's, a minibus for WRVS, a minibus for the Mignot centre, and the upgrade of the Dyslexia Centre facilities.

Jeff Kitts added: "We really keen to make this year's Swimarathon the best ever. We have a great Ambassador on board ? our own Olympic hopeful Ian Powell ? and two great projects to support. We hope everyone in Guernsey will join in the fun on 6-9 October - follow us on Facebook ? ?Skipton Swimarathon' and Twitter for the latest updates."

Entering the Skipton Swimarathon

Go to the website www.swimarathon.org to enter and remember, teams of 4 to 8 are invited, swimmers can get together as family groups, friends, from clubs, schools and of course company teams are most welcome.