On 6th September I took part in a channel swim as part of a relay team. Our team was called Team Tiger as all the swimmers were associated with zoos and wildlife parks. We all raised funds for different wildlife charities and also hospices. There were six of us in the relay team and we completed the swim from England to France in 16 hours and 56 minutes. I raised money for friends of Paradise Wildlife Park and the North London Hospice. Rebecca and Natasha, who also took part in the challenge, raised funds for Shepworth Hedgehog Hospital. Finally the other team member Laura raised funds for the Eaza South East Asian Campaign.
I decided to take on this challenge for two reasons, one to raise funds for my two charities and the second was to challenge myself. We did loads of training after work each night to prepare for the swim. The training included circuit training, lake swimming and swimming in the pool. It was important to do lake swimming so we could get used to swimming in cold water. I also did the Thames swim to get used to tidal swimming.
Well done to Claire and the team for their great achievement.
Reported by Claire Bacon, Apprentice at KEITS and employee of Paradise Wildlife Park.