SWIMMERS will be sponsored as they battle the clock in a bid to boost funding for a club for disabled athletes. The Great Yarmouth and Waveney Special Olympians team will be competing in a national challenge which aims to find out who can swim the furthest in an hour.

SWIMMERS will be sponsored as they battle the clock in a bid to boost funding for a club for disabled athletes.

The Great Yarmouth and Waveney Special Olympians team will be competing in a national challenge which aims to find out who can swim the furthest in an hour.

And as well as competing against the best Britain has to offer- the sixty minute swimathon is aimed at aquatic types both disabled and not- they are appealing for sponsorship that will allow them to expand.

The Special Olympians consists of 32 disabled swimmers aged from three years old upwards, many of whom will be taking part in the challenge at Phoenix Pool, Bradwell on Saturday, February 13.

They will also be joined by 'friends' and siblings of the club, and individual times will then be posted to the British Long Distance Swimming Association to be compared to the results of efforts across the land.

But for coach Heather Sayer, who has a paralysed upper left arm and aims to swim 2.5kms in the hour, it is not about rivalry:

“Even though I think thousands will be involved nationally it's all about self improvement and personal achievement.

“I hope that potentially we will be able to get over �1000, because individually the athletes feel passionately about the club so they're very dedicated to raising the money- that said, any donations will be greatly appreciated”

The team, which got several gold medals in the recent Suffolk county championships, hopes to use the money so that they can double their weekly pool time to two hours.

They also want to get some new coaches in, allowing them to cope with a growing demand that means a growing waiting list of swimmers keen to join the club.