Over 750 laps of 50 metres swum to fight malaria

At noon on Saturday, August 28, 2010, musical star Mariska van Kolck opened the swimming fete organized by Lions OverHolland in outdoor swimming pool 'Zwemlust' in Nieuwersluis. The first swimmers dove into the 19° C water to the loud applause of the spectators to swim laps of 50 metres. The swimming fete was organized to draw attention to malaria, a potentially deadly disease, and collect money for Malaria No More! Netherlands.

Not only adults put together teams to swim laps for the cause and collect sponsor money. Dozens of children also took part. Eveline and Rebecca's team put a lot of work into their outfit, which won them the originality prize and free tickets to the cinema. The Zwemlust Junior Team collected the most sponsor money of all of the junior teams and were also given free tickets to the cinema. In terms of the adult swimmers, Jan Blom's Zwemlust Senior Team collected the most sponsor money, winning them a golf clinic. Jan's team received sponsor money from a variety of private individuals and regional companies, with Woningbouwvereniging Vecht en Omstreken as the main sponsor, followed by Iron bv Purmerend and Rabobank Vecht en Plassen. Team BNI swam the most laps and got to recharge their batteries on 'poffertjes'.

In total, the participants swam over 750 laps of 50 metres: a distance of almost 40 kilometres! The collected sum was also impressive: the swimmers reeled in the proud amount of €5,800. With Wilde Ganzen's contribution and LIONS offer to round up the sum, the total proceeds amounted to €9,500!!! A fantastic result for the fight against malaria. The proceeds will be put towards a Malaria No More project in Kenya.

The fete started with rain, wind and even a thunder shower, but halfway through the afternoon, the sun finally came out.The atmosphere was extremely pleasant and everyone had a great time, not least thanks to the great location and hospitality of outdoor swimming pool Zwemlust, where the kids could play in the sand and with surfboards in the water. Adults could sit snug and dry on the patio or cheer on the swimmers from the grass area or the spectators' platform. Zwemlust provided coffee, tea and warm cocoa for the swimmers and spectators.

Lions OverHolland closed the afternoon with the announcement that they will hold the event every year - a good begin to a new tradition.

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