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A team of cheekily named local swimmers – four of whom have never swum in open seas before – have come together to attempt a 14-mile swim relay from Jersey to France in aid of two animal rehoming charities.
Put together by local open-water swimmer Wendy Trehiou, the six-strong all-female team refer to themselves as the 'Tots (T*ts on Tour) Ladies Relay Challenge Jersey to France 2023'.
Alongside Wendy, the team consists of Nicky Holgate-Smith, Ann Pallett, Debbie Thorne, and mother and daughter duo Ailie Brown and Zoe Patterson.
Pictured: Wendy, Ann and Nicky swimming at Bouley Bay.
The group of keen swimmers have all worked hard over the winter months to build up their time in the sea in order to complete their qualifying swims, which must take place in temperatures no higher than 16 degrees.
In order to qualify, swimmers must spend an hour and a half in the water, then get out for one hour, and then get back in the water for one hour.
Pictured: Jersey-born Debbie completed her qualifying swim in Dover Harbour which is is a training hub for Channel swimmers.
Now the qualifiers are complete, the team must continue to swim together a minimum of three times a week and keeping building their fitness levels up.
When they attempt the swim on 9 August, it will be in aid of two animal rehoming charities: Maz's Canine Rescue and Kim's Animal Rescue.
Maz's Canine Rescue is based in Spain and primarily acts as a sanctuary for large breed dogs. The charity helps to rehome the animals in Spain and the UK, as well as networking foster care and acting as a cat rescue.
Pictured: The full 'Tots' swim relay team.
Kim's Animal Rescue is also based in Spain and currently has over 100 dogs and a large number of cats in their care. Kim rehomes animals as far afield as Finland and France, and has several rehomed dogs now living in Jersey.
"We as a team are all animal lovers and we are proud to be able to help these charities support injured, sick and homeless animals," said Nicky.
Find out more about each of the swimmers...
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