ICEA Rottnest Channel Swim Fundraiser

The many ICEA events that led up to the Rottnest Channel Swim heightened the anticipation for the big day! Over the course of February, more and more swimmers signed up to brave the elements and travel the distance for ICEA. By the 25^th of Feb, we had 48 ICEA ambassadors who were willing to swim in teams from Cottesloe to Rottnest in an effort to raise funds and awareness for ICEA. The event coordinators, Caroline Sandover and Monica Pleydell-Bouverie were so grateful for all the  swimmers enthusiasm and their commitment and willingness to represent ICEA and attend each of the events. The day was a great success and the target of 10, 000 was reached towards a car for the Kimberly.

This car is a critical necessity, as it will not only assist ICEA in the day-to-day operations of the charity but also allow us to transport our ‘stay at school’ incentives to remote schools across the Kimberley.  It will also be a means of transport for ICEA volunteers who organise leadership camps in the region, giving young Australians the opportunity to be immersed in Aboriginal culture; in order to build mutual respect, cultural awareness and, ultimately, achieve action towards Reconciliation throughout Australia.

Wednesday 8^th of Feb: ICEA Rottnest Channel Swim Meeting

The first meeting for the ICEA Rottnest Swim Team was held down at North Cott Surf Life Saving Club where the swimmers came down for a quick chat about fundraising and promoting the swim as well as size fittings for the ICEA bathers! We took some footage of the swimmers and a few photos for their profiles. Lily Christou (aka absolute gun designer and computer wiz!) uploaded ICEA photos onto the Facebook page to begin promoting our swimmers and getting some donations!

The Promo Video

Leoni Woodfin was the brains behind the idea of launching a video to promote the ICEA Rottnest Swim Team. She scripted and edited footage that was taken at various venues to produce an epic two minute promotional video. A big thanks to Sue and Mark Conlan for lending us their pool for the shoot and Lochie Boyd for allowing us into his house on a lazy Sunday. If you haven’t already seen it, the video can be viewed by clicking the below link:

http://vimeo.com/36811968

Thursday 16^th of Feb: Photo for the Western Australian

All the swimmers met at Cottesloe Beach at 7am to get a photo for the Western Australian. Both the West Australian and The Post, a local community paper, posted articles on the ICEA Rottnest Channel swim team. This gave us even more exposure and kept the strong momentum for the fundraising going. As the charity is a youth run organisation and everyone is a volunteer, our resources are limited and we really rely upon the generous donations of community members. Too receive this level of publicity was great and we thank both newspapers for their support.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/full-coverage/rottnest-swim/a/-/article/12932338/rotto-swimmers-want-to-make-a-difference/

Thursday 23^rd of Feb: Pasta night

It was two nights before the Rottnest Swim, meaning it was time for the swimmers to carb load! Noel Nannup, a Ngugar Elder was at this event. He gave a talk on the significance of the passage of water between the mainland and Rottnest Island to the aboriginal people, spoke of the wildlife that may be encountered on the crossing and wished all the swimmers a safe journey. It is always such a pleasure to have Noel at ICEA events. His talks are always a truly special experience as he has such a strong connection to his country and his culture and we are very thankful for the time he dedicates to us.

Dinner was served with an abundance of lasagne and salad. Thanks to the kitchen helpers Kat Conlan, Caitlyn Fogarty, Clementine Packer and Madeleine Street for preparing and serving the pasta.

During dinner, Lockie gave a talk about the aim of ICEA and what it means to be an ICEA ambassador - Reconciliation; mutual respect for all Australians. The swimmers left the pasta night full bottle on their dreamtime stories, the ICEA purpose and had fuel to take on The Rottnest Channel Swim together.

Saturday 25^th of Feb

The big day was here. Despite many doubts about whether the event was going ahead due to the inaccurate weather forecasts, the conditions ended up being ideal and the swimmers hit the water running! We had 15 boats bearing the ICEA flag and plenty of supporters on the beach or on their way to the pub. Each Team swam their hearts out for the cause and everyone crossed the finish line. Sean Carter and Kate McPherson came first in the mixed duo; a sensational effort! Jeremy Telfer and Michael McCarrey came third in the Male Duo teams so a big shout out to them. Jemma Ford, Mel Smith, Beth Johns and Jess Cohen came second in their category and won a whopping $500 that they donated to ICEA. These girls also held a cake stall the weekend before the swim and raised $330 -  so get special acknowledgment for their enthusiasm and team spirit. All the athletes were met by supporters as they crossed the finish line and celebrated at the Rottnest pub in the evening. The whole event was a great success, particularly because it was the first ICEA Rottnest Swim Fundraiser. Next year we hope is going to be bigger and better with even more dedicated swimmers and support crew. We will have the everyday hero account set up so it will make the donation system much easier and efficient.

There was a Sundowner held a month after the Rottnest Swim to get together and thank the supporters and swimmers for their contributions. It was also an opportunity for reflection, we discussed strengths of the fundraiser and room for improvement next year.

A very special thanks needs to be made to the biggest donators: Tracey and Dermont Collopy, Gary Johnston, Ben Elton, Tim Leunig, Kim’s Food and Peter Connell. On behalf of ICEA we would like to thank you so much for your very generous donations.

Zac Vinten and Jemma Ford

Harry Howe and Jackson Shaw

Ellie Kemp, Jessie O'Mahony, Addy Nelson & Sarah Northey

We would also like to thank our sponsors Vorgee and Claremont Sports.

The swimmers: Sean Carter, Kate Macpherson, Andrew Greatrex, Kailan Durrant, Harry Howe, Jackson Shaw, James Erb, David Alston, Cal Foulner, Sam Fogarty, Jeremy Telfer, Michael McCarrey, Tom VanBeem, Zac Vinten, Tim Connell, Michael Kingsbury, Tom Smirk, Lochie Boyd, Hugo Roberts, Ellie Kempe, Jessie O'Mahony, Adelaide Nelson, Sarah Northey, Jemma Ford, Mel Smith, Beth Johns, Jess Cohen, Jessica Pleydell-Bouverie, Archie Cooke, Harry McGregor, Indi Read, Matteo Bellingeri, David McMorrow, Simon Crispe, Jarrad Heller, Henry Cooke, Maria Kailis, Patrick Lilburne, Lee Christinson, Brittany Pope, Katie Scheer, Em McCallum, Tess Kauffman, Amy Barber, Dan Fraser, Candis Fraser, Zeef Reeves.

The Organisers: Lockie Cooke, Leoni Woodfin, Lily Christou, Caroline Sandover and Monica Pleydell-Bouvere