Swimathon for the visually impaired

The Kingdom Swimathon for Brightness 2007 will be held in Hong Kong on 14 October, 2007 (Sunday) at La Salle College Swimming Pool. This is the first ever swimming relay event in Hong Kong organized for the visually impaired and the sighted people.

Local famous Pop Singer, Mr. Kenny Kwan, has been appointed “Ambassador for Brightness” for the Kingdom Swimathon for Brightness 2007 while Sun Boy’z and Sherman Chung have been appointed the “Energetic Stars”.

Sun Boy’z will participate in the swimming relay along with other guests and visually impaired swimmers, aiming to break the current Guinness World Record of Most Participants in a Swimming Relay in 1 hour with at least 18-meter, which was set by 137 Australians in 2005 with each completed 18-meter of swim.

"I am very pleased to have this first-ever swimming relay for the visually impaired and the sighted people held in Hong Kong with support from both Chinese and Hong Kong government and the community. All funds raised will be used on projects for the blind including prevention of blindness, blind education and vocational training in Hong Kong, Guangdong and the Asian region,” said Mrs. Grace Chan, JP, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind and Chairman of the event Organizing Committee.

Mr. Sun Kwok Wah, Peter MH, Chairman of Kingdom Group Limited, the Title Sponsor, echoed Mrs. Chan’s view by saying that, “blind and visually impaired people are in great need of our help and support to help them integrate into the community. Through our title sponsorship for this great event, we aim to arouse public awareness about the needs and potential of the blind and visually impaired people as well as to create harmony within our community."

A visually impaired person, Mr. Kim Mok, who won the honorable Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in 1999 shared his thought about the Kingdom Swimathon for Brightness 2007. “Potentials of the visually impaired persons can be unleashed with appropriate help and support from local community so that they can integrate into the society and make contributions. The theme of this event is to promote a message that sighted persons and visually impaired persons can collaborate with each other to break the Guinness World Record in this event” he said.

Registration of the Kingdom Swimathon for Brightness 2007 is open until 28 September, 2007. Participants, in a group of six persons, may participate in the relay swim. There are several categories: 1) primary school 2) secondary school 3) senior (aged 60 or above) teams and 4) corporate business teams.

Registration fee for categories 1 to 3 is HK$250 per person and HK$500 per person for a corporate business team. Each participant will receive one attractive gift pack (with a value of more than HK$680), while a fashionable waist bag will be awarded for those registrations made on or before 10 September, 2007 on a first-come-first-served basis until stock lasts.