Mere Mile open water splashathon raises £5,500 for RJAH Hospital

The Mere Mile, an annual open water fundraising challenge, celebrated another successful year by raising an impressive £5,500 in support of The League of Friends to The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (LoF RJAH).

Headline sponsored by Shropshire Pools and Spas Ltd, the event witnessed over seventy enthusiastic swimmers taking the plunge into Ellesmere Mere, with the goal of completing either a 1-mile or 2.5-mile swim.

Tracy Roberts, Managing Director of Shropshire Pools and Spas expressed their excitement for the event's success: "We are thrilled to have been part of the Mere Mile Open Water Swim every year and proud to support such a fantastic cause. Seeing the community come together for RJAH Hospital is truly heartwarming."

Notable additions to this year's event included new sponsors for the kayaks and course buoys, enhancing the overall experience for participants. The Mere Mile also introduced medals for entrants and distributed goodie bags, along with special gifts for the dedicated volunteers who contributed to its success.

Buoy and Programme Sponsor, Victoria Thornley, Managing Director of Woodland Park Lodges, stated: “We enjoyed supporting a local event for a great cause!”

Meg Anderson, Senior Development Officer of Cornovii Developments Ltd said. “We are pleased to support such a worthy cause by sponsoring kayaks and to be part of such an amazing fundraising effort. The hospital is close to our developments in North Shropshire, and we want to give back to the communities we are involved with too.”

Coca-Cola was provided to every swimmer by Booker Wrexham and Tesco Ellesmere,  with bottled water donated by Montgomery Springs. The atmosphere was full of fun as swimmers challenged friends and family to take part.

The success of the Mere Mile was also made possible by the dedicated team of over 40 volunteers who supported the event on both the water and the lakeside. This included members of the Borderlands and Ellesmere Rotary Clubs, safety boat crews, kayakers, and stand-up paddleboarders, all working diligently to ensure the safety of the swimmers throughout the event.

James Bainbridge, representing Swimfinity, commented on the event's success: "A massive thank you from Swimfinity to the volunteers who gave up their time to support the event, provide safety cover, and look after the swimmers….and of course to the swimmers themselves, whose entry fees and sponsorship funds are so critical to the work of the RJAH Friends!”."

Victoria Sugden, Charity Director, expressed her gratitude, stating, "Enormous thanks to Swimfinity, Shropshire Pools and Spas, Woodland Park Lodges, Cornovii Developments Ltd, Mereside Farm Self Catering and NFU Oswestry, and to Booker Wrexham,Tesco and Montgomery Springs for their generosity. Massive thanks to our wonderful swimmers, supporters, and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event a resounding success."