Hi all,
So here is the press release (below) for the 5 swimmers that will each be doing a solo swim across the Northumberland Strait on August 16!!!
The cool thing of course is that 3 of the swimmers are LOSTies… and all 3 are really good freinds of mine… and of LOST, for that matter! Stacey, Lynn and Mel!!!
I don’t know Chris, but he seems pretty well qualified (see his resume below!)… and I do know Annelies, who is an honorary LOSTie, who is from Belgium, but came with the group of LOSTies that did the “Swim Around Key West” last year… nice girl too!
mmm… Key West… that was fun… but I digress.
They are doing this 12.7 km swim from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island, parallel to the Confederation Bridge. It should be a very cool swim… with lots of adventure… and jellyfish, real waves, currents and tides and cold water!
Can’t wait to hear all about it! (and I wish I was going with them!).
Go Girls Go!!! 
Cheers,
Rob
For immediate release
July 29, 2013
On August 16th, five swimmers will be crossing the Northumberland Strait, in order to challenge any disbelief that diabetes is a roadblock to achieve goals. Chris Jarvis, Stacey Van Wart, Lynn Rodgers, Melanie Price and Annelies Vandenborre, who all have a personal connection to diabetes, will swim the 12.7-km crossing to increase awareness around diabetes and raise funds that will support a youth wanting to attend an I Challenge Diabetes event.
Approximately 300,000 Canadians live with diabetes and the number of children with type 1 diabetes increases by 3% each year. This amounts to numerous children, youth and teens who struggle to manage their sugars and fit in with their peers. However, the challenges that come with having diabetes don’t have to stand in the way of achieving any goals, which is what those five swimmers are setting out to prove.
Chris Jarvis was a member of the 2004 Canadian Olympic Rowing Team. He is a marathon runner, and advocate for exercise and human rights. His athletic achievements include winning the silver medal in Canadian Under-23 National Team, several gold medals at Henley (Canadian) and U.S. Nationals, and double gold medals in his final year of high school. He has won three senior gold medals – one at Wedau Regatta, an international regatta in Germany, and the other two at World Cup events. He is the founder and CEO of the I Challenge Diabetes organization which helps individuals manage their diabetes by participating in fun filled events. To learn more about his organization, visit:
ichallengediabetes.org.
Lynn Rodgers is an active member of the Burlington Masters Swim Club for the past eight years, competing more years as a Masters swimmer than as a Club swimmer. She started swimming competitively at the age of 11 with the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts and then with Oakville Aquatic Club. She is a perennial winner in both provincial and national Masters Championships. In May 2013, she won 2 gold medals at the national Masters Championships in Ottawa, taking first place in the 800 and 1,500 metres freestyle events. Rodgers added open water swimming to her competition schedule in 2010, joining the Lake Ontario Swim Team in Oakville. In June 2012, she won the top prize in the Swim Around Key West Female Masters division. She finished the 21-kilometre swim in five hours and 42 minutes, fighting salt water, waves, tides, looming storms and large fish, including sharks. In June 2013, the Burlington mother of two won Burlington Female Masters Athlete of the year.
Melanie Price is also a long time member of the Burlington Master Swim Club and is actively involved in Lake Ontario Swim Team. Her accomplishments involve completing a 42 km solo swim across LakeOntario in 2011 in just over 18 hours while raising money and awareness for Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. Just months prior to the lake crossing, she completed her first marathon swim, a 20k at the US Masters Swimming Championships. She began open water swimming in 1995 as part of a relay which successfully swam across LakeOntario while raising money for charity. Price has also competed in numerous Canadian and Provincial Masters Swimming Championships, medaling in an average of 2+ events per Championships. Melanie has competed in over 30 triathlons and 40 running races including 21 running races which were ½ marathons or longer, 2 full ironman and 7 half ironman, multiple top 3 age group results in both sports, two 2nd place Running Series finishes and the Subaru Sprint Triathlon Series age group title.
Annelies Vandenborre is a girl who likes to keep calm and swim like Michael Phelps! She recently entered the swimming world last winter while visiting her Aunt Lynn Rodgers. With a little persuasion, Annelies was participating in a polar dip and has been hooked ever since. She completed the Swim Around Key West on a relay team and has been training for the swim across the Northumberland Strait ever since. She is constantly looking for a new challenge to conquer.
Stacey Van Wart has been managing her diabetes through fitness for the last 10 years. She has participated in various triathlons included two full ironman and 3 half ironman. She is an active member of the Burlington Masters Swim Club and Lake Ontario Swim Team. She also participated in the Great Canadian Death race as a member of a relay team. Stacey also enjoys running 1/2 and full marathons. She has completed 5 marathons and 10 half marathons.
The Northumberland Strait is part of the Atlantic Ocean and runs between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The crossing is approximately 12.7-km long and will be swum along the ConfederationBridge.
For more information, please contact Stacey Van Wart at (905) 802-2214 or at [email protected]