Letterkenny people show their support for Aura’s
Special Olympics fundraiser

News released: 26th June 2009

Celebration was the order of the day at Aura Letterkenny Leisure Complex this week when the final count revealed that the centre’s recent ‘24 Hour Endurance Challenge’ raised €4,195 for Special Olympics Ireland.

“Over 200 people took part in The ‘24 Hour Endurance Challenge’ held on June 6th and June 7th which included a 24 hour swimathon in our 25 metre pool, a 24 hour runathon on our outdoor tartan running track and also in our gym, and a 24 hour spinathon in our gym. Throughout the course of the 24 hour period participants cycled a distance of 4,000 km, ran over 500 km and swam over 2,500 km,” Aura Letterkenny Operations Manager, Patricia Coyle explained.

Two of Letterkenny’s biggest sports clubs, the Swilly Seals Swimming Club and the 24-7 Triathlon Club teamed up with Aura to participate in the event which was one of the most challenging tests of endurance to take place in the county this year.

“We were absolutely delighted with the number of people that came out and supported the fundraiser. All of the money raised will help to change the lives of people with an intellectual disability. There are 35,000 people with an intellectual disability in Ireland but only 10,699 of them are Special Olympics athletes. The money that was raised by the challenge will go towards providing sports training and competition for all those athletes and towards reaching out to those people not already involved. It will also be used to recruit and train volunteers to help assist the athletes and to develop new clubs,” Patricia explained.

“The public response was fantastic, there was a great turnout and people really got involved and made the effort to support this fundraiser. Our aim was to encourage everyone to take part and to enjoy our commitment to fun, fitness and health, while at the same time making a difference to a very worthy cause,” Patricia added.

The Special Olympics Fundraiser was organised by Fitness & Dry Sports Manager, Rhonda McCrabbe and co-ordinated by Aura Fitness Instructor Bambi Doherty and the rest of the Aura Fitness Team.

Aura are also reminding parents that they are now taking enrolments for lessons in the next ‘Swim Academy’. Classes are scheduled to get underway on Saturday, July 4th; Tuesday, July 14th and Friday, July 17th.

The half-hour lessons take place between 3.30 p.m. and 5.45 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons and between 10.15 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Enrolment costs €69 for the ten weeks and includes a free skills assessment. Early booking is advised to avoid disappointment and a 10% discount applies for Aura members.

There is also good news for anyone taking out single or family membership during July. They can enjoy up to four weeks free membership as their first direct-debit payment will not be charged until August. Further information about the ‘Swim Academy’ or any of the special membership offers is available by contacting reception at 074 9106422.