Pool Staff Plan Channel Challenge

Lifeguards and teachers at two Derby swimming pools are planning a 26 mile sponsored swim – the equivalent of the English Channel – to raise money for vital maintenance on the life-saving equipment available to the public.

Twenty three members of staff at Gayton pool in Littleover and Lonsdale Pool in Mickleover, which are both run by Lonsdale Swimming & Sports Trust, will be tackling the swim at Lonsdale Pool on July 28 – each swimming around 400m at a time in a relay. They hope to raise more than £1,000 to buy batteries for the defibrillators that they previously raised money for and installed at both pools. The defibrillator batteries need to be changed every three to five years and are available both for pool users and the general public in the surrounding area in case of someone suffering a heart attack.

Sam Warner has organised the sponsored swim and teaches at Gayton and Lonsdale pools. She said: “Thankfully the defibrillators have not had to be used at either pool yet but they are a vital piece of equipment to have available as their use dramatically increases the chances of recovery for someone if they suffer a heart attack. “We have had a great response from the thousands of children, parents and the general public who use the pool for lessons, clubs and community sessions and I am sure that we will quickly reach our fund raising target.”

Gayton was Derby’s first new swimming pool to be built by Derby City Council in 25 years. It was opened in January 2011 and is managed by Lonsdale Trust on behalf of the Council – replacing the ageing structure that had been condemned. The Trust is currently on the search for a new 1.5 acre site to build a new £4 million pool to replace the ageing Lonsdale Pool on the former University of Derby campus in Mickleover.