Royal National Lifeboat Institution SOS Day events are taking place around the country. Five Team GB Olympic swimming stars will be among those taking to the water in Stockport on Friday 29 January for the RNLI’s biggest annual fundraising day.
Open water stars Cassie Patten and Keri-Anne Payne, and Michael Rock, David Carry and James Goddard will all be swimming a mile at Grand Central Swimming Pool in Stockport for RNLI SOS Day.
The charity is holding a sponsored swim at the pool from 10am to 8pm on SOS Day and the five Olympians are hoping as many people as possible will join them to raise funds for the RNLI’s volunteer lifeboatmen and women.
Video on RNLI SOS Day (4m 42s)
Olympic silver medallist and world champion Keri-Anne Payne, who trains regularly at the Stockport Intensive Training Centre (ITC), based at Grand Central Swimming Pool, with the other four swimmers, said: ‘As someone who spends so many hours in the water I’m full of admiration for those men and women who give up their spare time to go out in all weathers to rescue people in difficulty off the coast.
‘All five of us are delighted to swim a mile for the RNLI on Friday and hopefully lots of other people will join us to swim for 30 minutes or an hour. They don’t have to be record-breakers, they don’t even have to swim a mile. They just need to be able to swim a few lengths and raise as much money as possible for the RNLI on SOS Day.’
Lisa Rutter, RNLI Events Manager, North, said: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled that the five Olympic swimmers have agreed to support the RNLI on SOS Day. There are hundreds of events taking place around the country so even if you don’t want to take to the water there’ll be something for you to get involved in. Just log onto www.rnli.org.uk/sos for more information.’
To take part in the Sponsor Our Swim event at Grand Central Swimming Pool, Stockport, go to www.rnli.org.uk/events, email cmould@rnli.org.uk or call 0161 787 8779. For information about SOS Day log onto www.rnli.org.uk/sos
RNLI online For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 138,000 lives.
A charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SCO37736).
Charity number CHY 2678 in the Republic of Ireland.