19th February, 2021
It’s time to Swim the Magic and 13cabs is helping bring families to the fun at Malabar Beach! For the 6th year, 13cabs is proud to be the Official Travel Partner of the 2021 Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim. Supporting the Rainbow Club, 13cabs will be giving children with disabilities and their families free rides, in comfort and style, to and from the event with the help of a fleet of about 45 vehicles, including WATS (Wheelchair Accessible Taxis) and Zero200.
The Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim, named after the great Olympian Murray Rose, is known as ‘the friendly ocean swim’ and encourages all ages and abilities. The event on Sunday the 21st of February, 7am to 3pm, at Malabar Beach, Malabar, will raise much needed funds for Rainbow Club Australia. The incredible Rainbow Club is a network of swimming clubs across Sydney and NSW which provide a fun, individualised and safe community for children with a disability to learn to swim, interact, and play.
Blind marathon swimmer and Rainbow Club Ambassador James Pittar says the Malabar Magic Ocean Swim makes for a great family day out. “The event offers the choice of a one-kilometre, 2.5-kilometre or a new 5km swim. Being a calm, beautiful and accessible beach, it allows swimmers, as individuals and teams, of all skill levels, the chance to participate with hundreds of others, while raising money for a Rainbow Club – a very worthwhile cause,” he says.
“One of the greatest accolades for the swim event is the way it encourages swimmers with a disability to participate. Therefore, we are grateful for the support from 13cabs in providing transport for so many child swimmers who will be participating in the disability category.”
Mother of two special needs children, Nicole Lofthouse, sends her sons, Aiden, age 12 and Nicholas, age 10 to learn to swim at the Rainbow Club in Revesby. Nicole believes that being able to swim is an important survival skill in Australia, given the country is surrounded by water.
“Unfortunately for families such as ours, swimming is taught largely based on age group, and children are moved up a swim class due to age and not of ability. When you have a child, who has a physical or mental disability, this can be a source of frustration as due to their weaker muscle tone, the child can’t keep up with the class,” Nicole said.
“The Rainbow Club has been a life saver, literally, for our sons who have autism and it is a shame that because of limited locations and funding, not everyone in NSW is able to participate in this valuable network of swimming clubs for children with a disability. The Club has provided a nurturing place to teach water safety for our children and the swim coaches there are wonderful, caring and are highly skilled. We hope with extra funding more people can have the same opportunity,” Nicole says.
13cabs Chief Operating Officer, Stuart Overell says this event is a huge highlight for 13cabs on the calendar each year. “The Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim is a fantastically inclusive initiative offering an opportunity for all ages and abilities to participate. The Rainbow Club is also a truly wonderful charity in the valuable work it does in the community supporting children and their families with a disability, so it is always an honour to provide support and be a part of it. 13cabs has a deep commitment to serving its community and aims to support all Australians, providing equity and ease of transport access to all.”
“All our MAXI TAXI Drivers’ in NSW are WATS (Wheelchair Accessible Taxis, Zero200) trained. We will enjoy being at the service of our valuable customers on the day of the event and will love meeting all the families. We
will have VIP tents at the event drop off point ready to greet our important passengers. We will also have ice cold H2o on hand for refuelling and re-energising our special athletes on the day!”
For 13cabs the message for supporting the Malabar Magic Ocean Swim is a simple one – no matter who you are, we will get you there safely. Catriona Barry GM of Rainbow Club said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with 13cabs once more and appreciate their ongoing support over the years. Our sponsor 13cabs make it easy for Rainbow Club members to get to the beach on a Sunday morning. Families of children with a disability tell us how much they appreciate being picked up at their home and dropped at the beach. Not having to follow directions and find parking on a hot Sunday is something they really appreciate.”
“Across our clubs, 1000+children receive individualised swimming lessons each weekend during school term across NSW,” Baldwin says. “We are truly thankful for the awareness and fundraising raised through the Malabar Magic Ocean Swim which can help us to support our existing clubs and help us to expand our services to others in need. We still have over 500 families on our wait list. Your fundraising will help us to get them in the pool and learning to swim in the future. Everyone’s efforts and hard work, participants and sponsors alike, bring us one step nearer to achieving those goals.”
To donate to the Rainbow Club and support children with disability learn how to swim, please visit www.malabarmagicoceanswim.com.au We are constantly monitoring the situation following NSW Health legislation and planning to deliver a COVID safe event.
