A group of four Bay of Plenty teenagers traded in barley sugars for wetsuits, completing a 40km joint swim around Mount Maunganui as a way to fundraise for the 2021 World Vision 40 hour famine.

Team Shorebreak which is made up of Aidan Bollee, 13, Kiani Woodward, 14, Kate Murray, 15 and Quinn Boyle, 15, open water swim every Saturday but the 10km distance was a first for three out of the four swimmers.

Bethlehem college student Kiani Woodward came up with the idea to trade not eating for swimming.

“As teenagers, we found not eating too hard so we decided to do something more active,” says Kiani.

“Because we are a group of four, I thought that we should do 40km in the pool, but when we worked it out it seemed like too many laps and it would have taken up the whole day so we decided to do it in the ocean because we like swimming in the ocean more.”

To date, the team has raised $1747 to go towards the World Vision 40 Hour Famine passing their initial goal of $1000.

On Saturday, the water temperature was 15 degrees with a 15 knot NW wind, making it slightly more challenging for the students on the homeward leg.

The team started from Pilot Bay, around Mauao, past Moturiki and Motuotau Island to a turnaround point between Tay Street and Hart Street, before coming back to Shark Alley.

Whakatane High School student Kate Murray says she is really proud of the group because it was a good swim and the conditions were quite rough.

“The last two kilometres were the hardest because the current was against us and it felt like we weren’t going anywhere.

“When I got out of the water I felt really good. I felt like we had achieved a big accomplishment,” says Kate.

Aidan Bollee from Aquinas College says his favourite part was swimming around Mauao because the current carried the swimmers.

“It was hard but it was worth it in the end,” says Aidan.

Although the 10km swim was a first for three of the students, 15-year-old Quinn Boyle is no stranger to long-distance swims.

The Te Puke local, who attends Hamilton Boys’ High School, recently completed a 42km swim of Lake Taupo and is currently training for a Cook Strait crossing.

With swimming being known as more of a solo sport, Quinn says he really enjoyed the team aspect of Saturday’s swim.

Team Shorebreak coach Sheryl Mclay says seeing kids doing things for others is pretty awesome.

“They’re amazing in the way of challenging themselves and stepping out of their comfort zones,” says Sheryl.

“A lot of teenagers wouldn’t ever do a thing such as this.”

Source: SunLive.co.nz