The event is taking place at the Sea Lanes Brighton, 300 Madeira Dr, Brighton BN2 1BX on Saturday 21 September 2024.

Team Domenica is a charity supporting young people with learning disabilities to reach their full potential. We want to raise awareness of our work as well as the crucial funds that we need to do it. We are an organisation that promotes inclusion, and we feel that swimming is a great inclusive sport.

The event will take place in a 50-meter outdoor pool. That’s double the size of a typical pool.

No. Sea Lanes is a members-only pool, but the Great Lengths event will have exclusive use of the pool from 11am- 5pm (times subject to change).

Yes, but all Sea Lanes members will be able to register for half-price with a discount code.

We haven’t confirmed the exact timings of the event yet. We will be splitting entries into ‘early’ and ‘late’ blocks, starting no earlier than 11am and finishing no later than 5 pm.

For Individual Entries: 50m | 100m | 400m | 800m |1.6k | 2.5k | 5k

For Team Entries: 400m | 800m |1.6k | 2.5k | 5k

That’s down to you. We all swim at different paces, so we’ll be relying on you to give us an idea of how long you think it might take to complete your chosen distance.

When you select either a ‘early’ or ‘late’ slot, this will restrict your participation slot to a three-hour window. E.g. 11am – 2pm.
Once we have received enough entries for the day, we will be able to decide on the time slots and we’ll contact you with your approximate start time. This may change slightly on the day.

There will be 6 lanes.

We are limiting the number of swimmers to four per lane and will typically aim for three; this makes the total number anywhere between 6 and 24 people at any one time. Where possible we will be keeping similar distance swimmers to the same lanes and reducing the number of swimmers per lane as the chosen distance increases. In other words, lots and lots of space.

Of course. Sea Lanes has been designed to deliver an accessible and inclusive environment, which includes the following:

• Ramped access to the swimming pool building
• Level access from the reception areas and changing rooms through to the pool.
• A ‘Changing Places’ toilet and changing room.
• A wheelchair accessible WC in the main changing area
• Assisted access hoist into the pool and steps to one lane.

If you have any accessibility needs, please let our team know on registration, or get in touch directly at theteam@teamdomenica.com.

Access to the pool can be done by steps or hoist, and assistance can be provided if we are notified ahead of the event.

Please note that the pool is designed to be safe for swimmers to do tumble turns at both ends, so there is no shallow end.

We would recommend a change of clothes, a towel, something warm to wear when you have completed your challenge, suncream, water, some food to replace the energy you spend swimming, and money for food or drink if you think you might want a little treat or two.

You don’t need to wear a wetsuit, but you may want to if you are concerned about the temperature, especially if you are doing longer distances or if the air temperature is cool on the day. We strongly recommend that those aged 11-17 wear a wetsuit, and keep their distances below 1.6km.

The pool is heated to 19°C, but, at this time of year, the heat from the sun may have heated the pool up to as much as 25°C. An indoor pool is typically heated to between 28-29°C. At this time of year, the sea is usually about 17°C.

No. As much as we’d love to see people swimming in fancy dress, for safety reasons, we can’t allow people to take part in fancy dress.

Yes, there will be lockers and changing rooms. You will need to bring your own padlock.

No, we do not provide towels. Participants must bring their own.

We will provide a swim cap as part of your registration. Sea Lane’s policy is that swim caps must be worn in the pool, unless you have a sensory or medical reason not to.

Your fitness should be in proportion to the challenge that you’re undertaking. We highly recommend that you spend time training before the event. We will have fully qualified First Aiders and Lifeguards on hand to help with any unforeseen difficulties but, if you have pre-existing medical conditions, or are worried about your fitness, we strongly recommend that you seek medical advice before registering.

1.275 meters end to end (with no shallow end)

No, for this event we ask that participants do not dive.

Yes!

50 meters – that’s Olympic-size. Be aware though, a standard swimming pool in the UK is 25 meters, so the Sea Lanes is double the length!

You can certainly come and support the swimmers on the day, but if you want to do a fundraising challenge for us, the get in touch at theteam@teamdomenica.com and we can talk to you about your options. Or you can donate directly.

It’s when the pool is likely to be close to its warmest. Everyone is back to work and school by then too, so it’s easier for everyone to plan their weekend activities.

Ahead of the event you’ll get a branded swim cap and, on completing the swim, you’ll receive an ‘edible’ medal.

At most challenge events, you get a medal – it’s important to celebrate your achievement. However, we want to offer a sustainable (and tasty!) alternative to the usual carbon-heavy medals. Our candidates will be making gingerbread medals with printed icing so we don’t impact on the environment and you get something yummy to refuel with when you finish.

Nope. This isn’t a competitive event. The only competition is with yourself!

This would be possibly more fun than us humans taking part, but we can’t allow pets in the pool or the pool area. Pets will be permitted in the viewing area though, provided they are kept on leads and under control. We reserve the right to ask any participant to remove their dog from the event if we feel they pose a threat to others.

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Team Domenica are the event organisers. We are working with South Downs Leisure and Sea Lanes to put on this event

Water will be available on request, and there are several vendors who provide food and drink as part of the Sea Lanes complex.

Yes, supporters are definitely welcome. There is limited spectator space on the pool side and we may need to limit the number of people in the space. We will be providing an events space in the Sea Lanes complex where people can go before, during and after their swim. There is, of course, a whole load of beach nearby!

Yes, but we ask that you notify us of any specific support that you might need.

There is paid parking along Madeira Drive, though this can fill up quickly. The closest free parking is at Brighton Marina for up to four hours. From there it is a 15 minute walk.

You can change your mind about your distance up until September 7th. This will help us to effectively plan and deliver the event. Contact us at theteam@teamdomenica.com or phone +447423462931 to notify us.

You can let us know that you aren’t taking part in the event, but we can’t offer a refund for your place. As a charity we rely completely on the registration fee to put the event on.

These things happen. If there’s good time, we do ask that anybody who has an injury helps us to find a replacement for their place as we can’t refund your place. If you have successfully started your fundraising before your injury, we will defer your place to the following year.

The safety of participants and spectators is paramount. All involved parties will be conducting full risk assessments of the site and our event procedures. The event is organised in line with the policies and procedures of both Team Domenica, South Downs Leisure and Sea Lanes. We will be providing medical support on the day of the event in case of any medical emergencies.

You can reach us here…
email: theteam@teamdomenica.com
phone: +447423462931

As advised by Sea Lanes, if the risk of lightning is forecast to be consistently high throughout the day, the event will be cancelled for safety reasons and rescheduled to a later date. Otherwise, the event will go ahead.

There will be professional and amateur photographers and filmmakers at the event. Imagery will be shared for future promotion, on social media, our website, in reports and in print.

Yes, as long as you know that everyone in the shot is happy to be photographed. If you are taking pictures with identifiable people in, please make sure that they are happy to be photographed.

If you don’t wish to be photographed or filmed, please notify the welcome station staff on entrance. They will request a photo of you with your swimmer number for our private records. This is so that we can identify you in the hundreds of pictures that get taken across the day, and either take you out, or discard the image.

We encourage you to share your pictures on social media using the #SwimYourWay so we can see how much fun you’ve had. But please make sure everyone in the photo has given their consent

#SwimYourWay but you can tag Team Domenica, Sea Lanes and South Down Leisure on socials too.