Durban, South Africa – Durban’s Sarah Ferguson may be best known as a record-breaking endurance swimmer, but her motivation for organising the World Ocean Day Swim on June 8 is way more important than “just” providing a quality sports event in Durban for her fellow swimmers.
Ferguson has conquered some of the world’s most daunting endurance swims, but the motivation for the June 8 event is part of what she believes is a much bigger competition to beat plastic pollution.
The former international swimmer is calling on fellow ocean swimmers to join her at the World Ocean Day Swim at the Durban Beach Club. The event offers swimmers the option of distances ranging from 800m, through the traditional Mile or 1.6km, up to a testing 3.2km and the even longer 5km distance.
All proceeds from the event will go to Breathe Conservation, Ferguson‘s South African-based non-profit marine conservation organisation that focuses on reducing and eliminating single-use plastics.
The Breathe Conservation motto of “Live Deeply, Tread Lightly” aims to inspire future generations to reconnect with nature by providing education resources and running monthly beach and reef clean-ups, amongst other events – such as the World Ocean Day Swim.
“The swim is really for ocean lovers to have an event that is going to create awareness for plastic pollution,” said Ferguson. “As a swimmer, I want to raise awareness for my sport, but I also want to offer a swim in honour of World Ocean Day, and so help create an awareness about why we should protect the oceans.
“This is an opportunity to showcase our beautiful ocean, but more than ever it is a way to highlight why it is so important to protect it. The ocean is faced with so many challenges, especially in Durban with the sewerage, with the floods, with plastic pollution, and with marine life getting caught in the fishing nets and the shark nets.
“It is really valuable to have something like World Oceans Day, which is a global day that recognises the Oceans and recognises the importance of it in our lives, and be able to co-ordinate with that.”
Entries for the World Ocean Day Swim are at roag.org and more information about Breathe can be found at breatheconservation.org
More information about Breathe can be found at breatheconservation.org