Rotary and Swim Rotorua are encouraging local swimmers to join an international fundraiser as part of an effort to eradicate the disease of polio from the planet.
Rotary Rotorua Sunrise members James Billing, John Prentice and Don Gunn are organising the Rotorua leg of the international "Swimarathon" which will be held at the Aquatic Centre on Sunday, February 15, from 9am to 2pm.
Swimmers in the event can be sponsored for each length of the pool they complete, and this year the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $2 for every dollar raised, with the proceeds going to the Rotary International End Polio Now Fund.
"The aim is to collectively swim 10,000 lengths of the 50m pool, which is no small feat," Mr Billing said.
Swim Rotorua administration officer Pauline Spear said this year they had offered to bring in a lot of their swimmers, including professional triathletes Sam Osborne and Lewis Ryan, to take part.
"We have a lot of strong swimmers from our junior academy performance development classes, all the way up to our adult triathletes and masters.
"We're planning to space them out over the five hours, which should give us a slight boost in the number of lengths we get done," she said.
Swim Rotorua head coach Alastair Johnson said he was encouraging members to raise funds and to take up the challenge to push themselves a bit harder to rack up the lengths. The event has some personal significance for Mr Johnson, through his coach from when he started out. "My old swim coach had polio when he was a boy, and walked with a limp, so it's good to feel like I'm contributing to getting rid of it," he said.
According to the New Zealand Ministry of Health website, polio (poliomyelitis) is caused by a virus which can lead to a mild or serious illness. The virus infects the bowel and from there can attack the nervous system, causing meningitis or paralysis.
Polio has disappeared from New Zealand and most parts of the world as a result of immunisation.
The Western Pacific region was declared polio-free in 2000. However, the disease is still prevalent in much of central Africa and in parts of Asia and the Middle East, including Syria.
To register as a swimmer, or as a sponsor, contact James Billing on (027) 839 5724. For more information, visit www.rotaryrotoruasunrise.co.nz
