Breakers does Relay for Life

Breakers Swim Club participated in this year’s Cancer Council: Relay for Life event which took place at Joondalup Arena Oval from Sat 15th October to Sunday 16th October 2022.

Relay For Life is a fun and moving experience, which raises funds for Cancer Council WA’s research, prevention and support services. Relay is a chance for the community to:

recognise and celebrate cancer survivors and their carers,
support those going through a cancer experience, and
honour and remember loved ones lost.

It is a team event and involves running or walking around a track for 24 hours. The significance of this is that dealing with cancer is a 24/7 experience where there is no rest, so the challenge is for teams to keep their baton moving for the whole 24 hours of the event. Breakers Swim Club took part in this year's relay with a combination of swimmers, family and friends ranging in age from 11 year old cancer survivor, Thomas Bridgman, to president Andrew Weston who braved the cold night air to put in a two hour shift and set the example for the rest of the club.

The stats that matter

At the relay event each bead collected represents a lap completed, but Breakers take that a step further by using the notion that each bead represents a step on the journey to a person being a survivor of cancer, or to a cure being developed for the disease. Breakers participants developed a clock face to symbolise to people with cancer, that it doesn’t matter what time it is, that there is a team of people who are supporting them.

The stats that don’t matter

Breakers raised $3697 for the Cancer Council as part of the process. A total of 36 different people all up completed 528 laps (ranging from 3 to 51 laps) over the course of the 24 hour event, which equates to just over 232 km!