A former local refused to let health battles define him at Balmoral’s annual ocean swim
BY CATHERINE LEWIS
When the Balmoral Swim for Cancer was held earlier this year, one swimmer took to the ocean to prove that Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy (MD) was no match for his tenacity and desire to make a difference.
Drew Scofield, who lived in Balmoral and worked for Raine & Horne Mosman for over 10 years, has always enjoyed a dip. But once he started using a wheelchair due to the progression of his disease a decade ago, swimming became far more than just an occasional way to relax after work.
Now living in Noosa with wife Fiona, Drew credits swimming with allowing him a newfound sense of freedom, a way to challenge his body, to push boundaries and enable him to maintain his fitness. This is crucial when living with Becker’s MD, which is a rare, inherited condition that causes muscle weakness that gets worse over time.
“I started by just tagging along with my wife to her swim squad at the pool,” says Drew. “And one day I knocked out a kilometre. Fiona told me there was a Balmoral Ocean Swim that was one kilometre and that I should do it.”
It was this encouragement that planted the seed, and soon Drew was training hard for his first ocean swim, heading back to Balmoral to swim alongside 20 family members – including his nieces and nephews – and friends, some of whom designed custom-made ‘Just Drew It’ t-shirts for the occasion.
This year, the community driven, volunteer-run event raised just shy of $145,000 to go towards crucial childhood cancer research.
Drew is only able to swim backstroke due to his MD, which made his training at the Noosa Aquatic Centre under coach, Nick Croft, unique in its challenges. “I boosted my training to three or four times each week, building up until I was swimming between 1km and 1.5km per session,” he says, adding that the calm waters of the swimming pool can ‘get a bit boring,’ when limited to just one stroke. “The ocean offers a more exciting and unpredictable swim and on the day, the weather was perfect, although the swell was up a bit which did add to the challenge as the wash was going over my face at times,” says Drew.
Describing the day as an ‘absolute cracker,’ Drew even managed to shave a bit of time off his personal best. “I had been averaging around 1 hour 10 in the pool, but on the day, I came in at just under an hour, although I think the current may have had something to do with it,” he laughs.
Swimming has also helped Drew to build up his muscle – something health professionals had previously said was not possible with his condition – as well as losing weight and improving his overall well-being.
He has also found huge inspiration in the support he has received from his local community, both in his previous home of Balmoral – where his former boss at Raine & Horne swam with him and raised almost $40,000 for the cause – and in Noosa, with locals and fellow swimmers encouraging him to meet his goals.
On a high from the Balmoral swim, Drew is now keen to challenge himself further, not only at the Balmoral Swim – which he now plans to make an annual fixture – but at other events across the country.
“Friends are doing the 10km South Head Roughwater swim from Bondi to Watson’s Bay and, while I won’t be able to stretch to that distance, I do plan to push myself over the coming years,” he says. “Getting into swimming has been lifechanging. I am limited by my MD in that I can’t just get up and go for a run or a walk, but swimming is something I can do alongside everyone else. I jump in the pool and off I go.”
