Swimathon started in 1986 and since then more than half a million swimmers have taken part, raising over £36 million for charity. In 2011, Swimathon saw thousands of swimmers take the plunge in 575 pools across the UK.
In 2012, the world’s biggest fundraising swim will get even bigger, joining forces with British Swimming and BBC’s Big Splash, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Sport Relief to promote what is hoped will be the biggest Swimathon Weekend ever.
The BBC is working closely with the national governing body, British Swimming, to launch a new mass participation campaign called the Big Splash.
Through the Big Splash you can join the 13 million people in the UK who are already swimming by taking part in swimming events across the country.
This year, the Big Splash has joined forces with the Swimathon Weekend to offer swimmers the chance to take part in the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief. Swimmers can complete the mile either individually or as part of a team.
The Swimathon Weekend 2012 will take place from 27-29 April 2012.
In 645 public and private pools across the UK! Find your nearest pool.
The best part about the Swimathon Weekend is that everyone can get involved. It doesn't matter if you can swim one length or around the Isle of Wight, the Swimathon Weekend has the challenge for you! Both men and women of all ages and abilities are welcome.
Please view the Swimathon Weekend rules here.
Swimmer registration opens on 3 January 2012.
Enter now and choose your challenge and the pool at which you wish to swim. Just answer the required questions when prompted and you will then be ready to take the plunge.
The fastest and easiest way to register is online, but you can also enter by phone on 0845 36 700 36.
Online swimmer registration will close at 23:45 hrs on 25 April 2012.
The ability to register by telephone will close at 17:30 hrs on 25 April 2012.
Please note that popular sessions fill up quickly. To ensure your place in the world’s biggest swim, enter the Swimathon Weekend 2012 now.
| Entry Type | Entry Fee | Concession* | January Discount** |
| Swimathon 5k and 2.5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care | £10.00 | £5.50 | £5.00 |
| Swimathon Team 5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care | £20.00 | £16.00 | £10.00 |
| Swimathon Corporate Team 5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care | £20.00 | n/a | £10.00 |
| Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief | £10.00 | £5.50 | £5.00 |
| Big Splash Team Mile for Sport Relief | £20.00 | £16.00 | £10.00 |
| SimplySwim - Individual | £6.00 | n/a | n/a |
| SimplySwim - Team | £16.00 | n/a | n/a |
| SimplySwim - School*** | £1.00 per child |
n/a | n/a |
* Denotes concessionary price for unemployed, under 16s, registered disabled, full-time students and senior citizens aged 60 years and above. For team concessions, the majority (over half) must fall into one of these categories to qualify for the concessionary price. Teams are not separated into age specific categories
** Half price discount applies to the first 10,000 full price Swimathon Weekend online entries submitted and paid for before 31 January 2012
*** Telephone entries only
The Swimathon Weekend welcomes all ages and abilities – there’s a challenge for everyone! If you don’t want to take on the full distance, you can join up with friends and family and take on the Swimathon Team 5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care or the Big Splash Team Mile for Sport Relief.
| Kilometres | Miles | Lengths (25m pool) |
| 5 | 3.1 | 200 |
| 2.5 | 1.5 | 100 |
| 1.6 | 1 | 64 |
It is very important to train before taking part in any sporting event. Please visit the Training pages for further information.
All Distance Challenge Swimathon for Marie Curie Cancer Care and Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief participants will receive a medal from their pool after completing their challenge.
Yes, as long as you know the team name, or team captain’s name, you can search for the team. Please do not enter a team if you do not know the team members.
Please view the Swimathon Weekend rules here.
The great thing about the Swimathon Weekend is that you don't even have to get wet to get involved!
Many pools require volunteers to log laps and cheer, support and encourage their swimmers. Please find a Swimathon Weekend pool that you wish to volunteer at, and contact the organiser directly.
Use our Pool Finder to see if there are any other pools in your area.
If there are no pools that suit your time frame, you can still take part in the Swimathon Weekend by entering SimplySwim.
The entry fee for the Swimathon Weekend 2012 is non-refundable and non-transferable.
Yes, please click here to read our full privacy policy.
Your entry number will be sent to you on your Confirmation Email, once you have registered for the Swimathon Weekend 2012. It can also be found on your personal fundraising pages at the bottom of the ‘Fundraising Results’ page.
If you do not provide an email address at registration, your entry number will be found in your Confirmation Letter that you receive shortly after registering.
Alternatively, you can contact the Swimathon Weekend team on info@swimathon.org or call 0845 36 700 36.
The SimplySwim challenge for Marie Curie Cancer Care is an alternative challenge that offers you the freedom to swim any distance, any time, and at any pool. You can complete your laps over as many sessions as you wish from when you register, until 29 April 2012.
SimplySwim provides more flexibility to swimmers, and the opportunity to:
- Choose any pool, or place to swim – it doesn't have to be a registered Swimathon pool
- Set any target distance
- Log your completed laps each time you swim on your personal fundraising pages
- Monitor and review your progress on your personal fundraising pages
Teams consist of 2-5 members. All members must be registered in order to participate. Registering just the team captain is not sufficient.
If you do not want to fundraise online, your personal sponsor form can be downloaded from your personal fundraising pages, once you have completed the second part of your registration.
There is no minimum sponsorship required, but if you are taking on one of the Swimathon challenges for Marie Curie Cancer Care, to qualify for the fundraising rewards, you need to raise £100+ for a t-shirt or £300+ for a t-shirt and towel.
If you are taking on the Swimathon team challenge for Marie Curie Cancer Care, fundraising is based on raising an average of £100+ per team member for t-shirts and an average of £300+ per team member for t-shirts and towels. Terms and conditions apply.
Participants taking on one of the Swimathon challenges for Marie Curie Cancer Care CAN qualify for the fundraising rewards. Participants taking on the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief are NOT eligible for these rewards.
For those eligible to qualify, raise £100+ for a t-shirt or £300+ for a t-shirt and towel.
Team fundraising is based on raising an average of £100+ per team member for t-shirts and an average of £300+ per team member for t-shirts and towels. Terms and conditions apply.
Participants taking on one of the Swimathon challenges for Marie Curie Cancer Care CAN qualify for the fundraising rewards. Participants taking on the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief are NOT eligible for these rewards.
These fundraising rewards will be sent out in July 2012.
Terms and conditions apply.
Please ensure their web browser is up to date. If they are using Internet Explorer, they must ensure they are using the latest version. They can download the latest version by typing 'download latest Internet Explorer' into Google'.
Please ensure all fields that are required are filled in correctly. If there is any error message displayed, they can contact us on info@swimathon.org with a screen grab/shot included (‘Prt Scr’ on your keyboard), or call 0845 36 700 36.
To qualify for the fundraising rewards, your sponsorship money must have been received by the Swimathon Weekend team by 29 June 2012. The address to send sponsorship to is:
Swimathon Weekend 2012
PO Box 4500
London W1A 7LF
The Swimathon Weekend accepts general fundraising throughout the year.
If you are taking on one of the Swimathon challenges for Marie Curie Cancer Care, 70% of funds raised will be used by Marie Curie Cancer Care. The remaining 30% will be used by the Swimathon Foundation.
If you are taking on one of the Big Splash challenges for Sport Relief, all funds raised will be used by Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world's poorest countries.
No. All sponsorship money raised on the Swimathon Weekend fundraising pages is automatically submitted to the Swimathon Weekend.
- Swimathon 5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care
- Swimathon 2.5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care
- Swimathon Team 5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care
- Swimathon Corporate 5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care
- SimplySwim Individual for Marie Curie Cancer Care
- SimplySwim Team for Marie Curie Cancer Care
- Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief
- Big Splash Team Mile for Sport Relief
You are not able to raise money for another charity. The Swimathon Weekend is a fundraising event, and in 2012 the beneficiaries are Marie Curie Cancer Care and Sport Relief.
You are more than welcome to hold your own sponsored swim to raise money for your own cause, but it cannot be under the Swimathon Weekend event name.
- Pay enough tax in the tax year you made the donation to cover the 25% we will claim.
- Tick the Gift Aid box online or on the sponsor form. This is your Gift Aid declaration, which confirms:
- your full name
- your home address
- your charity’s name
- details of the donation – confirming that you aksed for Gift Aid to be claimed
- that you have paid sufficient UK tax to cover the tax that will be reclaimed
Gift Aid is a tax relief on personal donations to UK charities. The Government will add an extra 25% for every donation which is Gift Aid-ed. This means that for every £1 donated, it will give the charity 25p in Gift Aid.
The Swimathon Weekend team aims to add your cheque to your fundraising page and cash it within 10 days of receiving it.
During especially busy periods, such as April and June, there may be some delay with cashing your cheques.
The fastest and easiest way to send us your fundraising money is online. Fundraising online is fast, easy and secure. Just log in to your personal fundraising pages and click on the 'Fundraising' tab at the top, followed by 'Pay in my Fundraising Money' on the left-hand menu.
Pool registration for the Swimathon Weekend 2012 is now closed, but registration for next year’s event opens in September 2012.
To add your pool/centre to the contact list - please email the Swimathon Weekend team on info@swimathon.org.
Alternatively, if you would like to promote the SimplySwim challenge at your pool (which may help boost visits to your centre), then please contact the Swimathon Weekend team on info@swimathon.org to request posters.
