On Saturday 9th March the Rotary Club of Retford held its Annual Charity Swimathon, at the Retford Leisure Centre. The event, supported by BPL Your Space and Smith BrothersUK, was opened at 2pm by Vice-Chairman of Bassetlaw District Council Cllr. Gillian Freeman. Once again a tremendous community effort resulted in excess of £15,000 being pledged for local organisations and charities.  

In September 1987 the Rotary Club of Retford, as part of its fund-raising efforts for Polio Plus, an international campaign to eradicate polio and other debilitating diseases, first had the idea of a sponsored Swimathon”. This year the Rotary Club’s share of the money raised will support Guide Dogs and the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance. 

Over fifty Rotarians and Friends, lead by the Swimathon organisers Ros and Richard Cable, worked tirelessly throughout the afternoon to achieve another very enjoyable event.  Yet again the total raised represents a great response from the people of the Bassetlaw area. There was a diverse range of teams. It was very pleasing to see the community spirit shown,
particularly by the young people of the district who gave time on a Saturday afternoon, to swim and gain sponsorship for their good causes. Swimmers of all ages and abilities took part, and were well supported from the balcony. The Rotary Club appreciates the effort put in, and once again wishes to thank the parents/guardians and team leaders for their support and hard work in organising teams. In total some 300 swimmers participated in this increasingly popular community event, including The Retford Swimming Club on their Club night, and The Retford and District Life Savers during their Saturday morning
training session. This was made possible by the very professional help and support given to The Rotary Club organisers by Mr Simon Ferrarelli Bpl Corporate Manager, Tom Walker Facilities Manager and their excellent team of staff.  All who participated in the event made a great physical effort to earn their sponsorship.   

In total 26 teams representing 20 different organisations and community groups took part:-

 Primary Schools:-
St Swithun’s, Clarborough, Thrumpton , Sturton le Steeple, Rampton, Leverton, Ranby House and Beckingham

 Scout Groups:-
The 4th Worksop St John’s Scout Group,  1st East Markham & Askham Cub Scouts, 7th Retford Scout Group and the 2nd Tuxford Beavers.

 Other
Organisations:- The Rotary Club of Retford, Retford Inner Wheel, HBPW Consulting,  Retford Swimming Club, Retford and District Life Saving Club, Rossington Hall RDA, 1403 (Retford) Sqd RAFAC,  Barnsley Premier Leisure and the Elizabethan Academy.

 Forty percent of the total money raised will go to the Rotary Club’s chosen charities, the remaining sixty percent is donated to local charities and organisations chosen by the participating teams. These include:- 
Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice,  Riding for the Disabled, Thrumpton Project Playground, Rotherham Hospice, School Funds and Scout Funds, the DEAR program, the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Charity, and STEM Kit Leadership Equipment.

All the swimmers received medals and certificates for their personal efforts. Trophies, supplied by Firbeck Trophies Langold, for various categories, were presented by the Retford Town Mayor, Cllr Dan Henderson at a presentation ceremony at Ye Olde Bell Hotel on Saturday 16th March, and awarded to:- 

Team Awards

Senior Team Most Lengths   Clarborough Primary Staff

Junior Team Most Lengths Thrumpton Primary Team 1

Senior Team Most Sponsorship   HBPW Consulting              

Junior Team Most Sponsorship  Sturton le Steeple Primary

 Individual Awards

Senior Individual Most Lengths   James Cable    HBPW Consulting

Individual Most Lengths   Elizabeth Smith        4th Worksop St John’s Scout Gp.

Junior Individual Most Lengths M. Nicholls-Brown   Sturton le Steeple Primary

Junior Individual Most Lengths Benjamin Lightfoot Rampton Primary

Junior Club Most Lengths on the day Bronte Easey Rampton Primary

Senior Individual Most Sponsorship          George Daly               HBPW Consulting

Inter. Individual Most Sponsorship   Gabby Pitchford    Riding for the Disabled

Junior Individual Most Sponsorship     Maisie Buclaw           Sturton le Steeple Primary       

Club Swimmer Most Money Club Night    Samuel Grove           Retford Swimming Club

Effort Awards

 Award for Effort              Emily Richard  Riding for the Disabled

 Award for Effort     Charlie Barton as part of the total effort for Ranby House

The Rotary Club of Retford wishes to thank local Councillors, BPL Retford Leisure Centre and Smith Brothers UK for their support of the 2024 Retford Rotary Swimathon.

The Rotary Club of Retford was delighted to present a cheque for £1000 to the Retford & District Lifesaving Club at the Retford Leisure Centre on Saturday 21st January.  Retford Rotary President Mary Danby and Percy Laws Management Committee Chairperson Viv Montgomery made the presentation.  The money was donated to support the Lifesaving Club Members
who have qualified to compete in the World Lifesaving Interclub Youth Open Championships, (fifteen, 14-18 years) and three in The World Lifesaving Masters Championships, in August 2024.  The Championships take place in Australia. 

Those competing are fundraising in a variety of ways with a sponsored ‘Triathlon to Oz’ – a real challenge which has training benefits too.  They will cover the equivalent distance from Retford to the Gold Coast in Australia by swimming, cycling and running – 10,250 miles in total.  Other fundraising activities are a Spring Ball with an Australia theme, foreign currency collection, raffles etc. Once at the competition venue, life will be intense with early morning pool, beach and land training between competition days alongside briefing and overall preparation sessions. Frugal hostel accommodation is booked where they will eat and support each other. 

Based at Retford Leisure Centre, the Lifesaving Club, a friendly group of adults and young people, is dedicated to delivering essential lifesaving, first aid, rescue and personal survival skills. They compete at a local, national and international level in various lifesaving competitions and are a recognised club member of the Royal Life Saving Society UK.   Retford Lifesaving Club offers an extensive range of awards and qualifications for
people of all ages and abilities. The awards cover fitness, technical knowledge, skill and judgement when dealing with simulated incidents – each of which requires varying levels of proficiency.

Retford, a small market town, is rightly proud of this thriving, well supported Club and Retford Rotary are very happy to support them just as they support us in our annual Swimathon which takes place this year on Saturday 9th March at the Leisure Centre.