THE inaugural Bank 2 Bank has been labelled an enormous success by organiser Arlie Atkinson, with participation numbers exceeding expectations.
With the event taking place across part of Lake Boga, the run/walk began at 7am with the swimmers entering the water at 8am.
Sixty-five swimmers took to the water for the 3.1km Bank 2 Bank swim, with each swimmer being accompanied by a support person following them in a kayak and/or canoe.
“We were targeting around 40 for the swim, so to get nearly double that was amazing,” Ms Atkinson said.
Participation numbers were also quite high for the 5km run, with 50 runners/walkers crossing the finishing line.
When asked how she felt regarding the event as a whole, Ms Atkinson said it turned out really well.
“It was really good to see so many people come out and create such a supportive atmosphere for the swimmers at the finishing line,” she said.
Although local athletes made up the majority of the entries, there were a few who made quite a voyage to compete in the fundraising event.
Entrants from Bendigo, Echuca, Shepparton, Mildura, Ballarat, Melbourne and even one swimmer came from Adelaide to swim the Bank 2 Bank course.
Ms Atkinson was extremely pleased with the distances some people came to take part in the event, after a extensive marketing program for the event.
“We tried out some different marketing strategies including targeting those who are involved in Open Water Swimming Victoria,” she said.
While being instrumental in the running of the event, she also took to the water herself, setting a personal best time of just under one hour.
Plans are already in place to run the event next year, with the aim to make the event bigger and better.
Although the proceeds are still being tallied up, rough figures suggest that over $6000 has been raised for Swan Hill Youth Inc.
Will Burns from Swan Hill Youth Inc who co-organised the event was super pleased with how it went.
“It was a surreal moment to see how many people came down and supported Arlie with this fantastic event,” he said.
He noted the massive amount of work put in by Arlie and her family in organising the event, with many hours put in behind the scenes.
The money raised will support young people all across the Swan Hill LGA, which extends to the towns of Manangatang and Robinvale.
In particular the money will be invested in youth mental health first aid training, to upskill young people on how to not only manage their own mental health but assist those around them.Results:
Senior Male 3.1km Bank 2 Bank Swim: Troy Bauerle in a time of 42 minutes and 24 seconds.
Senior Female 3.1km Bank 2 Bank Swim: Janessa Fitzgerald in a time of 44 minutes and 40 seconds.
Junior Male 3.1km Bank 2 Bank Swim: Nick Kearns in a time of 49 minutes.
Junior Female 3.1km Bank 2 Bank Swim: Alivia Andrews in a time of 1 hour flat.
Senior Male 5km Run: Aaron Seton
Senior Female 5km Run: Tania McVittie
Junior Female 5km Run: Milan Arentz
Male Swim Around the Buoy: Cal Muir
Female Swim Around the Buoy: Noa Bella Wong
