I have been following the fantastic work that Swim Tayka do since I first read about them in Outdoor Swimmer Magazine and am thrilled to be involved. I have been looking for an opportunity to use my skills for a good cause and I feel like the stars have aligned as this combines a lot of things that I’m passionate about.
I left a career as a financial planner to follow my husband to Singapore in 2016. I started swim teaching in 2018 and am keen to volunteer for one of the Swim Tayka projects once I have gained a little more experience.
Swimming has given me so much in addition to fitness: community, travel and adventure and I love being able to share this with the next generation in addition to the mechanics of the strokes. Swimming is a life skill and I believe that it should be for everyone.
In 2019 I undertook a SwimRun to raise money for the schools and recycling centre on Nusa Lembongan, a small Indonesian island off of Bali. We visited one of the schools, but unfortunately, there wasn’t time for a swimming lesson. It did, however, give me an insight into the need for swimming lessons in these communities where fishing and boat travel are so prevalent.
Personally, I cannot remember a time when I didn’t love being in the water. Since moving to Singapore, I have been fortunate to swim as part of a fantastic squad (Swim Smooth Singapore) and participate in some very enjoyable long-distance open water swimming events. In 2019 this included:
- The Port2Pub from Freemantle Beach to Rottnest Island, Perth (19.7km);
- BestFest, Mallorca (5km, 3.8km, 1.5km, 2.5km, 3km, 4.5km, 500m relay) over 7 days;
- SwimJunkie, Caramoan, Philippines (15km);
- Oceanman, Krabi, Thailand (10k); and
- Swimon, Perhentian Island circumference, Malaysia (16k).
Perhentian is a very special place to me. I was the first women to circumference the big island as I won the inaugural event in 2017 and have since swum around the small island (15k) with a good friend. I hope to return for the 4th time this year.
Previously I also enjoyed a number of swims in the UK including the Great North Swim, Dart 10km, Thames marathon Henley swim (14km) and Brownsea Island circumference (6.5k). One day I would love to swim the English Channel, but I definitely have some cold water acclimatisation to do after so much swimming in the tropics.
