Why I am Running
Story
In 2008 the world lost a special person, Ratidzo Moyo. Rati, as he was known to friends, drowned off the coast of New Zealand on what was supposed to be, the trip of a lifetime.
I was lucky enough to know Rati through the formative years in my life, at secondary school. He was the most sound and wonderful human being you could ever imagine. He had a quiet demeanour, was funny, humble and willing to help anyone at the drop of a hat. His memory and values still live with and guide me, to this day.
When I learnt of Rati's drowning, I was immediately transported back to a moment we shared, preparing for our house swimming competition. It was 2005 and our year group was being tested in the pool by an older pupil who was selecting the best swimmers to represent the house team. Before we were put through a sequence of mock races, being a strong rugby school, we warmed up with a game of British Bulldog, which naturally deteriorated into a mass brawl.
For whatever reason, I wasn't particularly sold on the idea of swimming for the house team that year, so I decided to pretend I wasn't a strong swimmer. When it came to the first of several races, I took it slow, making it look like I was so bad, that they'd be better off picking someone else. I clearly did a good job, because I never made the team that year. But while I was pretending, it was at this point that I noticed Rati was right beside me, doing what looked like the same, trying to avoid being picked. It didn't take me long to realise that he wasn't acting. He was genuinely struggling to swim and hold himself afloat.
I reflect on this moment often, thinking that I could have done more. I could have taught him some basic techniques to stay afloat and have more confidence in the water right there and then. I could have encouraged him to take swimming lessons if I had more readily recognised at the time, that being a competent swimmer is an absolutely necessary life skill. The question of 'what if' will linger with me forever.
The Wider Problem
Since 2008, there have been a plethora of amazing events that friends and our School have undertaken to raise funds in Rati's name. But as someone who works in the Sport and Physical Activity sector, I continue to hear and see a low level of access and swimming competence in those from African, Caribbean and Asian heritage.
Stark figures published in 2020 by the The Active Lives survey demonstrate this, where only 2% of people who swim in England are black. This low participation is echoed at all levels, with only 668 of 73,000 competitive swimmers in England identifying as black or mixed race.
This simply isn't good enough.
A Solution
As ever, the contributing factors to why swimming competence is not higher amongst black and asian groups in England are multi-factorial. In order to address these issues, the Black Swimming Association (BSA) - the first not-for-profit charity of its kind in the UK - is working with governing bodies, swimming charities and the aquatic community to redress this imbalance, improving education, access and ultimately swimming skills / safety for African, Caribbean and Asian communities in England.
If you are able to donate anything, whether it’s pennies, pounds or more, I’ll be hugely grateful. To add a little extra spice to this challenge - because completing a marathon isn’t enough - my conservative aim is to run the marathon within 3 hours 30 minutes. But for every minute faster than that, I’ll be donating an extra £5 extra of my own money to the cause.
Thank you,
Jeremy
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