University of mini传媒 student George Glover is swimming 300km around Lake Rotoiti to raise funds for youth mental health.
In a fundraiser for Mike King鈥檚 鈥業 am Hope鈥 charity, third-year student George Glover will begin his long-distance swim around Lake Rotoiti, in Nelson Lakes National Park, on Friday, 28 January.
George, 20, is planning to swim around the edge of the lake over the course of a week, finishing on Waitangi Weekend. Guest kayakers and swimmers will join him for some of the stages, including Mike King and听and听former World Triathlon and Commonwealth Games champion Rick Wells听on the first day.
鈥淭his is by far the most challenging adventure I鈥檝e dreamt up,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e out there, it鈥檚 just you that you can rely on and there鈥檚 no going back. I know I鈥檒l be in the right head space and give it a good crack.鈥
The former competitive swimmer is training hard for his big swim, including going to the gym most days and swimming up to 80km a week. Half of his swimming sessions are in the pool and half are in the sea.
His fundraising goal for the effort, which he is calling Black Dog Swim, is $100,000, which will provide more than 800 counselling sessions for New Zealand鈥檚 most at-risk youth through the 鈥業 am Hope鈥 charity.
George says the cause he has chosen is one that鈥檚 close to his heart. 鈥淎 big part of it is the challenge and making myself uncomfortable. But it鈥檚 also about getting people talking about mental health and the challenge of talking to others. My generation has been taught to listen, but listening is no good if people aren鈥檛 talking. It鈥檚 also important that people know how to respond if someone needs to talk 鈥 there is a real need to get those skills out into the community.鈥
George is no stranger to impressive challenges to raise funds for youth mental health. In 2020 he raised more than $60,000 for 鈥業 Am Hope鈥 by swimming the 61.5km length of the Queen Charlotte Sound and back again, totalling 123km 鈥 five times the Cook Strait swim distance. To date he remains the only swimmer to have completed this swim.
His original plan for his next fundraiser was to swim up the east coast of the South Island from Christchurch to Blenheim, his home town, but unfavourable weather conditions made that impossible and he has opted for a lake swim instead.
George has been working with the University of mini传媒 Athlete Academy Programme and he is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sport Science and a Bachelor of Commerce, with the aim of continuing to explore the link between mental health and sport. He is also the President of听Lads Without Labels听鈥 a student-led club dedicated to improving men's mental health in and around campus.听
George is a semi-finalist in the听听category of the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards for his work with the club.
To help George achieve his fundraising goal, visit his听.
