PRESS RELEASE
Ian Down, Partner, Hamlins
Hamlins Partner in Another Charity Swim…This Time It’s The Channel!
Hamlins Intellectual Property Partner Ian Down is to undertake the “Everest” of open water swims; a solo attempt on the English Channel, some time between 1st - 8th August 2010.
The first successful solo crossing was by Captain Webb in 1875. The fastest is by Peter Stoychov in just under 7 hours. The average is approx 13-14 hours. More have climbed Everest than swum solo across the English Channel; up to 1995, more people had been in space. By July 4th 2010, there had been 1520 successful solo swims by 1099 swimmers. Of these, only about a third are from the UK.
Ian’s swim is in aid of 2 charities. The first is the Light Fund. This charity was set up in 2004 by like-minded members of the UK & Eire licensing industry. The selected beneficiary will be the registered charity “Friends of Pitcheroak Special School”. Ian has asked the Friends to earmark funds to help children still in local mainstream schools who need to be at the special school. The funds are needed to pay for travel between schools and for ‘trialling’ at the special school, after which the school can recommend the child for Local Authority funding.
The second is RMHC, an independent charity providing 'home from home' accommodation for families at hospitals looking after their seriously ill children.
2 years ago Ian joined a team of 10 from the brand licensing industry for a charity swim around Gozo, Malta. He said “it was a wonderful introduction to open water swimming and started a journey I never foresaw.”
That journey has witnessed a spiralling training schedule which he has had to fit in with his client-responsibilities. As his training peaks, weekends are being spent swimming back-to-back 7 and 6 hour sessions in Dover Harbour with a few other equally focused Channelists for company.
“In years past, each time I saw the Channel it never ceased to inspire a sense of awe and the thought of ‘what if’. But it remained a private thought for many years, as there seemed no point in announcing it. I chartered my boat and pilot last summer but it took until May this year for it to really sink in. Until then, my training had been in warm, crowded, chlorinated indoor pools, which seemed completely surreal in the context of the end-goal. Yet now, having nearly completed an austere sea-training programme, it feels very real indeed, not to say unnerving; the thought of standing on the beach at 1a.m. in the morning waiting for the signal to start, is one that’s now disturbing my sleep on a more regular basis. Some of the Channel aspirants I swim with gave up their jobs to focus on the training, yet I’m now finding my work to be a helpful distraction!”
Ian has a blog at http://ians-channelattempt.blogspot.com/ and is seeking sponsors for the swim.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
1. For further information contact Zhanna Sutton at Hamlins at the above address or by e-mail: zsutton@hamlins.co.uk
2. Picture shows Ian Down
3. Ian Down is a partner in the Media and IP Department. He joined Hamlins in 1992, having obtained a Law and History degree from Keele University in 1984. He qualified in 1988 and became a partner in 1994. He has expertise in a wide range of commercial and company matters, specialising in marketing, advertising, sales promotions, sponsorship and endorsement agreements, lotteries and merchandising. He was cited in The Legal 500 as follows:
“Ian Down attracts high praise from advertising and marketing clients: "he has a very sensible no-nonsense approach to his work and is very client focused", "understands brands and our business" and "has a superb knowledge of games law. The firm - which also handles sponsorship and franchising work - provides a complete all-round fantastic service.”