University of Plymouth student Dominic Flavell takes to the seas to raise money for Aspire.

"On the 7th of August, we got the go-ahead to swim the channel, a 22mile swim against the tide and weather, luckily for us, a window was chosen with the perfect conditions.

6 of us would be swimming a relay across the channel, which finally started at around 1:45 am in the morning.

My wait continued till 4:45 am, where I began swimming with the sunrise. Each swim by the team lasted for an hour, our hope was to get to France in around 10-12hrs.

By my 2nd swim we could see the coast more clearly and needed to get to the north side of the Cap Gris-Nez, after a tough hour against the tide I got us just south of the cap with the last two swimmers taking us in close to the south side of the cap and finishing our swim in 11hrs 4mins."

Swimming & Waterpolo Club

The club really helped with organising a number of charity events from Aqua Zumba to charity swim events within the club. During our Christmas meal, we organised a give away of a number of prizes from drinks to drinks. Sadly cos of COVID 19 we couldn’t complete all fundraising with the club and we had planned a few events. But aside from that, the club raised the amazing amount of £500 even with a global pandemic stoping most of the fundraising!

Who is Aspire?

Aspire is a national charity that provides practical help to people who have been paralysed by Spinal Cord Injury. A spinal cord injury can happen to anyone at any time, and no one is prepared for how it will change their life. Aspire exists because there is currently no cure. 

People with Spinal Cord Injury will lose muscle and sensory control and a large majority will become full-time wheelchair users for the rest of their lives. Historically, the majority of spinal injuries have been sustained by those aged 21 to 30, with nearly three quarters of newly spinally injured people being male. However, Spinal Cord Injury is increasingly affecting older people now too.  Approximately 2,500 people sustain a spinal cord injury in the UK each year.

Through its projects and programmes, Aspire offers practical support to the 50,000 people living with a spinal cord injury in the UK. This support allows people with spinal injury to lead fulfilled and independent lives in their homes, with their families, in their workplace and in leisure time.

Get involved with some of Aspires Challenges here: aspire.org.uk/events-calendar