June 1 – June 30
Swim the length of one or two of the D-Day landing beaches to support injured veterans and honour those who fought in D-Day.
On 6th June 1944 Allied forces landed on the beaches in occupied Normandy. 156,000 troops landed on these beaches, of which 61,715 of these were British forces. The British mainly landed on two of the beaches code named Gold and Sword. It is estimated 1,449 British troops were killed in the D-Day landings and many more were injured.
The Challenge
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, throughout June we are asking you to swim 5 miles (the length of one beach the British landed on) or 10 miles (the length of both beaches the British landed on).
The 5 mile challenge is 320 lengths of a standard 25m pool and the 10 mile challenge is 640 lengths of a standard 25m pool. You have the whole month of June to complete your miles.
You will receive a limited edition Blesma Swimming Cap once you receive your first donation.
Registration and Fundraising
It is free to sign up for the challenge and we ask you fundraise £50 for our Injured Veterans.
When you sign up you will have access to our fundraising pack, swim mile tracker and Facebook D-Day Swim community group.
Once you have your first donation on your fundraising page we will send you a Blesma Swimming Cap and if you raise £100 you will receive a Blesma T-shirt.
Where will you Swim?
You can complete your swims anywhere you like. Head to your local swimming pool or to your nearest outdoor swimming club. Wherever you choose to go, please ensure you are safe. If you swim outside, never swim alone and ensure you are properly equipped.
Tickets
Individual Entry Ticket – open to everyone, wherever you are based.
Riverside Entry Ticket – open to those based in Essex. We have a special partnership with Riverside Ice & Leisure Centre in Chelmsford. The first 10 people to sign up with the ‘Riverside Entry ticket’ and get a donation on their fundraising page, will get 2 free swimming sessions to help you get started with the challenge. For more information on this please email fundraising@blesma.org
Find out more here:
