News
15 May, 2024
Swimming in support of men’s health
A group from Caboolture and Woodford came along to support the Bald Hills contingent of swimmers at Albany Creek Leisure Centre in a recent swimathon, courtesy of the ManKind Project (MKP) in conjunction with Rotary International.
It was the second time this swimathon took place, having begun last year as a collaboration with the Redlands Bayside Rotary Club, as one of its projects to support men’s health and wellbeing.
This year’s Bald Hills swimming group comprised Bald Hills MKP members Chad Kevan, John Abraham, Jaysen Knezovich, Kyal Levier, Daniel Nolan and Pete Rowles, as well as John’s son Jack and MKP Queensland president Tom Caruso.
Another Bald Hills MKP member, Daniel Gadsby, was away for work commitments but he spared the time to complete 100 laps of a 25m pool in Mount Isa.
Other swimmers in this year’s event took part at the Cleveland pool, where one participant swam sidestroke next to a family of ducks!
Freestyle was the most popular stroke while breaststroke was among the other strokes swum by the Bald Hills contingent, which clocked up 21.1km after tallying 844 laps of the 25m pool.
“Everyone found their own groove after warming up and figuring out how often to have a break for a chat, snack and a drink,” Jaysen said.
“It was very motivating seeing family members supporting swimmers, and also when a man that recently joined the Bald Hills iGroup showed up to support.”
Jaysen said the outcome was a big step-up from last year when just three Bald Hills swimmers tallied 9km.
Jaysen said $18,100 was raised across the board this year, with the funds to help men in financial difficulty who are interested to attend MKP’s flagship New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA), which occurs three times each year in south-east Queensland.
Information about the ManKind Project, its iGroups and trainings can be found online at www.mkpqld.org.au.
The Bald Hills iGroup meets at the Uniting Church Hall at 2131 Gympie Road from 7pm to 10pm each Thursday.
