On August 17th, 2010 at about 03.00 a specialist boat (piloted by an experienced CS&PF, Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation, pilot) will be setting out from Shakespeare beach in Dover. Ahead will be 21 miles of English Channel. Six children from Bristol will form a relay team aiming to swim the Channel that morning. If they succeed, and statistically chances are they will, they become the youngest team EVER to have done so !
More than 40 children applied to become part of the BEST (Bristol English Channel Team) team. Through a process of rigorous, and fun!, selection they have been tested to find out who can cope with what the English Channel has to throw at them. The final team of 8 has now been selected (6 swimmers and 2 reserves).
Project aims
- To set a new world record for the youngest ever relay team to swim across the English Channel
- To promote competitive open water swimming for children in and around Bristol (perhaps even to find an open water Olympian of the future!)
- To inspire enterprise and adventure amongst local children (after the swim the team will give inspirational talks to other school children in Bristol and the surrounding area)
- To counteract “couch potato” behaviour and encourage children to be active
- To raise money for charity
