Swimathon

On Monday, the 23rd of September, swimmers from the SES Aqua Tigers swim team, two of whom were our very own Mr Mike and national swimmer Glenn Victor, took upon the challenge to swim as many laps as possible in the span of one hour in our third annual Swimathon. The Swimathon is a charity event organised by the school swim team to help raise money for those in need. Last year, we raised money to help those who were affected by the tsunami in Lombok. This year, in support of Yayasan Pratiwi Surabaya, the swim team set out to outswim themselves by beating the 87 km they had swum previously, thus increasing the amount of money raised.

Yayasan Pratiwi Surabaya offers non-formal education for children suffering from cancer in Dr Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya. On a daily basis, two teachers from our school are sent to work in two wards with children between the ages of 3-15, teaching them to read, mathematics, science, and study language, according to the Indonesian National Curriculum. Additionally, the children participate in non-academic activities such as arts and crafts, sewing and board games.

Around 3 o’clock, Mr Mike and one of the swim team captains, Aiko, gave the welcome speech, followed by a quick ushering of swimmers to their respective lanes. With the sun boiling at 38ºC, both swimmers, parent volunteers and teachers helping out at the event were drenched in sweat, but humongous smiles were evident. As the clock struck 4, the swimmers finally heaved themselves out of the water for a well-deserved rest.

By the end of the event, it had been announced that this year’s Swimathon total amount of laps swum had been 3,433 laps, equating to 86.325 km! That alone had raised a glorious 80,366,000 rupiah for Yayasan Pratiwi Surabaya. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated and helped at SES’s third annual Swimathon.

Reported by: Ji In and Aiko