Former Councillor Dives Into Marathon Swim to Help Fund Charity For Disabled Kids

Published on: 5 Sep, 2019
Updated on: 8 Sep, 2019

David Reeve (left) and his family who swam ten kilometres to raise money for charity

In the local election this May, more than half of Guildford’s borough councillors either stood down or lost their seats. The Dragon wondered what happens to those who used to spend considerable time on local civic governance. Do they start a hobby, throw themselves back into jobs, somehow renew their lives or do they perhaps, like old soldiers, simply fade away?

One former councillor is really splashing out for charity. On Saturday, September 14, David Reeve, 67, a retired project director and former GGG borough councillor for Clandon and Horsley who stood down in May, will be tackling a 10-kilometre “aquatic marathon” down the River Dart in Devon, organised by the Outdoor Swimming Society.

This will be his second long-distance swim, fundraising for Level Water, a charity that provides free swimming lessons for disabled children.

The Reeve swimmers pose for a framed shot.

David said: “Last year my son Chris (27) suggested doing the swim, and five of us in my family: daughters Jenny (33), Lizzie (31) and Jenny’s partner Oliver (36), took up the challenge.

“Although I could swim front-crawl, I had always found that very tiring. Before I started training, I needed a rest after just a few lengths of the pool. It was also about 30 years since I had done any regular swimming.

“But we all trained hard, and all of us managed to complete the full 10K distance, and we raised more than £3,000 for Level Water.”

After last year’s swim David, helped by council officers, introduced Level Water to Guildford Spectrum, aimed at setting up Level Water swimming lessons for disabled children in Guildford and surrounding area. Negotiations are still underway and David is hopeful they will go swimmingly.

This year, a group of seven Reeve family and friends will repeat the challenge. David said: “Long-distance swimming is excellent low-impact aerobic exercise, and given my starting point last year, I was very gratified by what we were able to achieve in improved personal fitness, and the financial support for an extremely effective and worthy charity.

“We would be very happy if other Guildford residents joined next year’s OSS Dart 10K swim in 2020, especially if that would help to provide an ongoing source of funds to support local Level Water swimming lessons.”

The Reeve family would very much appreciate Dragon readers happy to donate to Level Water contribute through David’s Virgin Money Giving fundraising page.