Pinay Domestic Workers Join “Most Inclusive Swim Race” in HK
Splash Foundation founder Simon Holiday officially declares the 2018 Splash Dash Relay open at the Canadian International School in Aberdeenin Hong Kong’s Southern District on 18 March 2018.
28 March 2018 HONG KONG – Some 70 Filipino household service workers (HSWs) joined on 18 March 2018 a swimming competition for the international community – dubbed as the “most inclusive swim race” in Hong Kong – that helped a non-profit organizastion raise HK$80,000 to fund swimming and water safety courses for underprivileged groups.
The Pinay swimmers were among the 90 foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) – as HSWs are called in Hong Kong – out of the more than 300 competitors split up in 45 teams in eight heats racing to finish the most number of laps for a period of 30 minutes in the 2018 Splash Dash Relay at the Canadian International School in Aberdeen in the Southern District.
“It’s the most inclusive swim race in town,” Simon Holliday, open water swimmer and founder of the event organizer Splash Foundation, told the Philippine Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza during a break in the half-day event, which invited company executives and expats to team up with FDH graduates of the NPO’s 12-week courses.
According to the group’s philosophy, “Splash provides an opportunity to learn an important life skill which develops confidence, improves well-being and allows people to flourish both in and out of the water” through the swim lessons that bring together experienced coaches and FDHs and refugees in a supportive group setting in multiple locations every Sunday.
Since its foundation in 2015, volunteer coaches at Splash have taught more than 700 domestic workers, most of whom are from the Philippines and Indonesia, to swim. The beginners’ classes, which are held in pools in Tai Tam, Braemar Hill, Aberdeen and Discovery Bay, are free but demand a high level of commitment from the participants.
Each class has a capacity of 30 students taught by some 50 local volunteers guided by a group of professional swim instructors. Holliday says Splash has no problem attracting students; in fact all the spots available on their Facebook page are usually snapped up in a few hours.
An accredited coach and public speaker, Holliday has completed a 15-hour 2-minute crossing of the English Channel in 2011 and a 10-hour 20-minute swim of 35 km across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong to Macau. In November last year, he broke a 41-year record by swimming the 45km circumference of Hong Kong in 12 hours and 32 minutes.
The relay event, which was also attended by officials of Manila-based swim school founded by Philippine Swim Team head coach, the late Bert Lozada, led by CEO Anthony Lozada, was supported by London-based international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, and prize sponsors LUSH Hong Kong, The Feel Good Factor, The Peninsula Hong Kong and 2XU.
By 2020, Splash Foundation aims to provide 5,000 people with the opportunity to learn how to swim and be water safe, says Holliday. END
Philippine Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza (3rd from left) poses with Splash Foundation volunteers, led by its founder Simon Holiday (1st from left), at the 2018 Splash Dash Relay fundraising event held at the Canadian International School in Aberdeen in Hong Kong’s Southern District on 18 March 2018.
Philippine Deputy Consul General Roderico C. Atienza (4th from left) poses with competitors from the Philippines, who are working as household service workers in Hong Kong, participating at the 2018 Splash Dash Relay fundraising event held at the Canadian International School in Aberdeen in Hong Kong’s Southern District on 18 March 2018.