Mass open water swim to raise tens of thousands for charity

One of the UK’s most scenic and popular open water swims, which is also becoming a major charity fundraising event, enters its eighth year when it takes place on the river Dart in September.

The Dart 10K was the first swim of its kind on the open water calendar and quickly grew from 200 swimmers taking part to 1,600 over two days.

It now raises tens of thousands of pounds for charities every year. Last year Dart 10K swimmers raised £45,000 for Level Water, one of the event’s designated charities, which gives swimming lessons to disabled children. This enabled the charity to double in size and become truly national.

“The event directly paid for a further 100 disabled children to learn to swim,” says director Ian Thwaites. This year Level Water has 200 swimmers taking part.

Swimmers are free to raise money for the other designated charities (The Bone Cancer Research Trust and Frank Water, which supplies clean water to disadvantaged communities in Nepal), their own charity, or just swim for the pleasure of it.

Other swimmers are fundraising for the charity Legs4Africa, which ‘recycles’ prosthetic limbs from UK hospitals and private donors, and ships them to clinics in West Africa to be fitted to amputees, transforming their lives by enabling them to walk again.

On a more local note, there is also a fundraising effort for the Dimbleby Cancer Care charity, set up by the Dimbleby family who have a home in Dittisham. Two local women, Gail Mosley and Stella Stothart, will be running a catering stall at the mini-festival there to raise money for it.

Jonathan Dimbleby said, “The Dart 10K swim on my favourite river is a fabulous event: a real challenge, enormous fun, and a delight to watch. It is a double delight for me that if you buy a bacon butty at the finishing post in Dittisham, you will be supporting Dimbleby Cancer Care – a vital charity dedicated to making life better for those living with cancer. Enjoy a great day, eat mouth-watering bacon butties, and support a great cause at the same time –what’s not to like?“

The Dart 10K is also good news for the South Hams economy.

“The positive impact grows each year,” says Will Sheaff, from organisers the Outdoor Swimming Society

“As well as money spent directly in the South Hams on putting on the swim, on lifeguards, transfer buses and suppliers, hundreds of thousands of pounds is spent by swimmers on accommodation and hospitality.”

A direct beneficiary of the event is the Outdoor Swimming Society, the country’s leading community of wild and open water swimmers, which funds itself through its events. The OSS now has over 25,000 members, and delivers information and inspiration to swimmers year around on how to follow their passion safely through a website, newsletters, social media groups (Facebook and Instagram) and support of the worldwide crowd sourced swim map, wildswim.com. In 2017 OSS founder Kate Rew received an award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame for her contributions to recreational swimming.

The Dart10k follows the Dart from Totnes to the estuary at Dittisham, taking in some of the South Hams’ most beautiful countryside and landmarks along the river, including the Cormorant Tree, White Rock, Sharpham boat house and Bow Creek.

“We have some fantastic and some very fast swimmers, we have skin swimmers, disabled swimmers, newbies, butterfly swimmers – but whatever the level, the language of the day is different,” says Will Sheaff. “It’s a journey, not a race, and there’s room for everyone in the river.

“The atmosphere of the swim is of a supportive shared experience, without medals to chase. Swimmers help each other out and quietly enjoy the environment.

“And the day ends with good times! The swim finishes on the village green in Dittisham where there’s a mini-festival feel, with local food suppliers, vintage fete games, a children’s playground, all the fun of the fair as swimmers celebrate. With deck chairs and a great view, supporters can while away as many hours as it takes swimmers to get there.”

For more information about the Outdoor Swimming Society and the Dart 10K, please visit www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com