Get your swimmers on and make a splash for a good cause at the Balmoral Swim on 24 March
Come along on 24 March for the open water swim of the month, as the Balmoral Swim for Cancer is back in its 33rd year. Since 2006, the Balmoral Swim has raised over $2,300,000 and has set a goal of $200,000 for 2024.
All funds raised go toward the Children’s Cancer Institute’s ‘zero childhood cancer’ program.
This unique event has distances for all levels, all held within the beauty and safety of Sydney Harbour.
Tony Arena, a member of the Anita Corelli’s Excellent Squad fundraising team, has been involved in the swim for decades. In 2005, his sister Anita Comelli died of cancer. After the loss, Tony and his family decided to continue with Anita’s tradition and commemorate her passion for the water and children by participating in the swim.
“She used to swim in the Balmoral Swim – it was one of the few ocean swims that she swam in,” Tony says. “She wasn’t a great ocean swimmer, but she liked the harbour swim because it was calm waters and fairly safe. She was a swimming teacher and taught children down in Wollongong.
“She just looked at me one day and said, ‘am I going to die?’ And I said, ‘you’ll never die’. And that’s (how it started).”
When Anita passed away, Tony wanted to perpetuate her name through fundraising. The family got behind the swim and the fundraising team Anita Corelli’s Excellent Squad (ACES) was born. It has raised over $200,000 for cancer research.
Everyone is invited to participate, including swimmers with a disability. Once again this year, there will be a beach wheelchair and ramp supplied by Mosman Council. Swimmers and their companions can participate in any event; they can join their wave from the beach or the water.
“The health benefits are obvious. The community atmosphere down there is wonderful. And the fact that you are contributing in a meaningful way to the raising of funds that will help families that get a diagnosis of cancer,” Tony explains. To sign up, go to balmoralswim.com.au
When: 24 March 8:30am to 12pm Where: Balmoral Beach
Register: balmoralswim.com.au
RACE OPTIONS
- 1km ocean swim
- Schools relay challenge: senior, intermediate, junior. Four swimmers x 200m swim
- Balmoral team challenge: Four swimmers x 200m each
- Junior swim 200m: under 12