Water babies are all dressed up for pool
Hundreds of little cuties take part in Splashathon to help raise £701,000
More than 800 babies have swapped their swim suits for fancy dress costumes to take the plunge in swimming challenges that have raised funds for two leading charities.
The Scots tots have been generating vital cash for Tommy’s and the Children’s Alliance – charities that are closed to every parent’s heart.
Tommy’s exists to stop the heartbreak and devastation of baby loss and make pregnancy and birth safe for everyone, while the Children’s Alliance aims to give children the best start in the first five years of life. The bi-annual ‘Splashathon’ fundraising events, hosted by baby swim school Water Babies, involved babies and children up to the age of five, along with their parents and carers.
By making a splash with their swimming skills at pools in the North-east of Scotland, the little ones’ enthusiastic efforts contributed to the latest record-breaking total of £701,087.
From Cloudfish to Dalmatians, the little swimmers got stuck in to demonstrate how imaginative their wet suits could be.
Said Water Babies Scotland Northeast franchisee, Louise Friseal: “We had over 800 people take part in our special ‘Splashathon’ lessons and we were delighted with the vast range of different costumes we saw in the pool.
“We love the excitement that comes from the children coming to class all dressed up, and there is always a great atmosphere during Splashathon Week.
“We are blown away by the amount of money our swimmers in the north-east of Scotland have raised to help families across the country.
“We hold these charities very close to our hearts, so we are over the moon at how much we will be able to donate to help those in need.”
Since it was co-founded by Paul Thompson in 2002, Water Babies has grown into the world’s largest baby swim school, today teaching more than 80,000 babies every year through a network of family businesses across the UK, Ireland, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, China and US.
Water Babies is aimed at families of all shapes, sizes and blends who want to give the children in their lives the best possible start.
Water Babies teaches the life-saving skill of learning how to swim, taking each child on a journey of aquatic discovery, adventure and purposeful play.
It advocates holistic learning through creating water quests and adventures tailored to every stage, prioritising child personal development, while nurturing the mind, body and soul through swimming.
The organisation recently launched its ‘Oceans of Imagination’ programme, which incorporates tried-and-tested techniques into a learning experience that unlocks new challenges as learners’ core aquatic skills, swimming strokes, and water safety milestones develop.
The programme brings together swimming and life skills through purposeful play in a friendly, safe, and non-judgmental environment.
Children’s Alliance is the Water Babies’ charitable foundation, aiming to make a difference in the first five years of children’s lives.
Its work aims to champion the importance of children and inspire the potential of the next generation through policy campaigning and community initiatives.
By working with likeminded organisations and actively fundraising to support key projects, Children’s Alliance provides more outreach into communities and effects real change to the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the UK.
The bi-annual ‘Splashathon’ fundraiser has been running in Water Babies lessons since 2006, and altogether the worldwide organisation has raised over £6 million.
This could help fund for a year the UK’S first Tommy’s National Centre for Pre-term Birth Research, dedicated to researching the causes and prevention of premature birth and helping to reduce the number of babies born too early.
With one in six children struggling with social, emotional or mental health, supporting Children’s Alliance local initiatives aims to make a real difference in a child’s first five years, which will have a long-term impact on their life.
Funds raised from Splashathon and distributed by the Children’s Alliance could support vital water-based activities across the country.
For example, £14 will fund a child aged under five with cerebral palsy to join a specialist group swimming session on a weekly basis through the Dame Vera Lynn Charity.
A donation of £25 will buy specialist swimwear and a towel for a disabled child through Leigh Trust, while £30 pays for a disabled child to attend a specialist swimming session through We Are Beams.
Through the Wave Project, just £60 will pay for a child’s full wetsuit, while £166 funds a surf therapy session for a child who has mental health issues.
A donation of £300 will pay for a specialist wetsuit for a child recovering from cancer who has a enteral line or central line through Face Everything And Rise.
Howard Harrison, CEO at Water Babies, said: “We’re delighted that so many families took part in Splashathon 2024. Splashathon is always a huge team effort and our swimmers and instructors up and down the country make it into such an exciting event. We’re so grateful to our swimmers and their supporters for taking part, fundraising and donating to raise so much money for two amazing charities.”
To find out more, visit: www. waterbabies.co.uk; www.tommys.org; www.childrensalliance.org.uk