the Channel Swim

Fancy doing a relay swim across the channel for charity?

Two Light Fund teams did – and now it’s just less than two months away.

Here’s how they’re getting ready for the cold, the dark, seasickness, pollution, jellyfish, passing boats, a very heavy training schedule ... and the indignities of chafing!

Jellyfish, seasickness and the truth about goose fat!

The Light Fund has attracted a large and growing number of sponsors and donations for its forthcoming English Channel Relay fundraiser. The money raised and pledged so far has taken two intrepid teams almost two-thirds of the way to their target of £250,000 – which will be a record for any single Light Fund challenge. Now all the 14 volunteers have to do is swim the channel, though, as you may already have guessed, that’s not quite as straightforward as it sounds. First, however, a quick recap. The Light (Licensing Industry Giving Help Together) Fund was born when a group of like-minded people from the UK licensing industry came up with the idea of forming a committee to help those less fortunate. This includes an annual fundraising challenge. Its batty ideas in the past have included a charity bobsleigh race (“absolutely terrifying” as one bobsleigher put it) and a 100-kilometre walk across the South Downs (“both horrendous and joyous” according to one participant), but the English Channel Relay may beat them all for both the commitment required and, let’s be honest, the danger faced. First of all no one is absolutely sure when the relay will take place: slots on either the last day of June or one of the first three days of July have been left open but the actual start depends on weather conditions. And yes, when the conditions look good you can start – but they may not stay that way as the Channel is notoriously unpredictable. There was of course a qualifying swim – which everyone has successfully completed – in water of 16C or less. “Ninety minutes in the water, 60 minutes out and back in for another 60 minute swim,” explains Tasmyn Knight, Retail Franchise Manager at Hasbro UK. “It was so much tougher than expected – but that was just the start, so quite a reality check!”

Mark Kingston and Stephen Gould

The training is not just about getting fit and building up endurance and stamina to be able to swim for several hours. It’s also about developing a tolerance for the cold water. The rules don’t allow wetsuits but, the team members all hope, after training in water as cold as nine degrees the Channel will feel like bath water in comparison! “People are always horrified when you tell them wetsuits aren’t allowed,” says Anna Hewitt, Senior, Director, International Franchise Development & Communication at Spin Master. “I never in a million years would have thought I could cope with that kind of cold – but now I love it and can’t walk past a river or lake without wanting to jump in!” To add to the pressure, training schedules have been interrupted by events outside the control of the organisers. “I had Covid and couldn’t train for a month,” says Katie Price, Head of Books at The Roald Dahl Story Company. “I was completely wiped out.” And now she is training again, she may find herself having to get psyched up for a night swim. The race kicks off about 2am, mainly because, depending upon the weather and tides, a successful crossing could take 12 or more hours and, ideally, the race needs to finish in daylight; it’s hard to photo someone clambering onto a French beach with no light. “If we don’t get to France before a tidal shift that can add another four to five hours to our crossing,” Stephen Gould, MD of Bear Conran and a team leader, explains. There will be some company of course: not just the support boats but tankers, sewage, other boats and maybe even the occasional jellyfish could make an unwelcome appearance. Is that all? Not quite. Simon Gresswell of sports licensing consultancy SGLP says, “We’ll need to practice in the sea dosed up with our anti-seasick medicine. Seasickness can get so bad that you just don’t want to carry on.” Except the rules say you must. Everyone has to swim for an hour in the order that their team has decided on. And everyone needs to cover – at least – three kilometres in that time slot. That means (in case you were wondering) that everyone will be swimming front crawl, the most efficient and fastest of all swimming strokes. After an hour another person will go in and do this, and then another on repeat until they reach France. As you can tell, the rules, laid out by the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation, are pretty unforgiving. “No wet suits, just one swimming hat and you certainly can’t wear a Garmin watch – or any other sort of device that could give you an advantage over anyone else in any way,” says Anne Bradford, Director at Poetic Brands. There are also strict rules about people not helping you. If someone puts a hand out and helps you back in the boat your whole team is disqualified. You may be part of a team but, apart from your fellow team members cheering you on, once you’re in the water you’re on your own. Until that daunting day, however, it’s train, train, train. “We all need to be swimming a minimum of four to six hours a week,” says Stephen. “I’m doing at least six swim sessions in water ranging from 9C (lake) to 31C (indoor pool). A weekly target of 12 to 15 kilometres is pretty much what we’re all aiming for as the swim gets closer. And that doesn’t include gym sessions and upper body weight training, both of which are very important.” There will soon be team-based training, including a serious trial run which won’t just be about swimming but about other important stuff such as getting back into the boat unassisted and deep water starts “because,” says Simon, “in a pool you push off the side to get a start. In the water you just have to start swimming.” If you actually get to that point. All team members have to have forms signed by a doctor to say they are fit to swim. One of the biggest issues has been high blood pressure, but Kevin Langstaff, Senior Account Manager at GB eye Ltd, has overcome slightly tougher challenges. When he damaged his leg in a motorcycle accident nearly a decade ago he was told he might not even walk again – but he’s been passed as fit to swim the Channel. However, he says: “I have one leg largely made of metal, so my fellow team members are convinced I’m going to sink.” Are there any positives? Well, nutrition perhaps. As Stephen says, “This is not the time to lose weight. You should pile it on to keep warm.” But, oddly, none of this interests the public as much as one very specific topic. Jason Goonery, Licensing Coordinator at SEGA Europe, says, “The first thing they say to me is ‘Oh, are you going to cover yourself in goose fat?’. I’ve been asked about 100 times.” He continues, “No one does that – though you do put Vaseline on bits that might chafe.” But if you do use Vaseline, wear medical gloves. Jason explains, “If you have it on your hands then touch your goggles, your goggles get all greasy and smeared. Then you can’t see.” Despite all the dangers and challenges involved we shouldn’t forget that this is a magnificent charity effort – and, by the way, it really is a race. “We’ve each been matched with a similar-level swimmer on each boat to create a bit of drama with the two teams racing,” says Stephen.

So are the Light Fund swimmers wondering what they’ve let themselves in for? Probably. Are they going to change their minds? Ask Katie Price. “I swam competitively when I was younger and when I heard about it I really fancied the idea. I’d just turned 50 and thought ‘Big birthday, big challenge, chance to get really fit – why not?’ So I signed up. And once I signed up I knew there was no going back.” You can find out more about corporate sponsorship options here. https://issuu.com/ maxpublishing/docs/ light_fund_channel_ swim__final_-2)

And individuals are very welcome to donate via the event’s Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/ the-light-fund, where you can also follow the teams preparing for the big day.

There’s also an Instagram feed and a Facebook page containing team photos and updates.