The Cathy Brooks Swim Angel Program

During last year's Bring on the Bay Open Water Swim, support kayaker Taylor Randall spotted a swimmer in distress. She entered the water and kept the swimmer afloat until the rescue boat arrived to safely extract the swimmer. Due to her quick action Taylor saved the life of the swimmer. To recognize her heroic act, she was awarded a special commendation from the mayor. At a ceremony last evening at the Nepean Sailing Club, Taylor was presented with the commendation by Bay Ward Councillor Theresa Kavanagh on behalf of the mayor and Ottawa City Council. Congratulations, Taylor, for a well deserved honor.

We're still recruiting! We could use a few more swim angels for this year's event. If you are interested in experiencing something awesome this summer, let us know!

Sehjal B (@sehjal_b) • Instagram photos and videos 1,757 Followers, 2,763 Following, 203 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Sehjal B ()

Now that is a lot of MyFloats and Swim Angels! Last evening we held our annual safety training session for this year's Swim Angel team. We have a record number on the team this year: 43!! The program has swelled from 19 Angels last year. Many thanks to all the Angels who generously donate their time to help make Bring on the Bay Open Water Swim accessible to as many swimmers as possible. We are looking forward to the swim on July 12, which is also going to be the biggest one so far with over 1000 swimmers in the 3k and 1.5k events!

Thanks to Marian Jordan for capturing this awesome moment!

Thanks to our sponsors: GoSwim and .

MyFloat is one of the main sponsors of the Cathy Brooks Swim Angel Program. This open water swim accessory was designed and distributed in Canada. The MyFloat inflatable dry bag floats behind swimmers, tethered to an adjustable waist strap. Its bright colour (pink or yellow) makes it clearly visible to boaters, an important safety feature in open water swimming. All swim angels are required to swim with a MyFloat. We would like to thank MyFloat for their generous donation of several floats over the past years of the program. Get yours here: .com.

Are you an angel? Would you like to be? Let us know.....

Our Swim Angel Program has become quite popular! We have a record number of requests for Swim Angels for this year's Bring on the Bay Open Water Swim on July 12th. In order to ensure that we have enough Angels to accommodate all requests, we are instituting a deadline. If you want to swim with an Angel this year you must let us know by June 16. Please register as soon as you can so that we can accommodate your request.

And if you would like to volunteer as an Angel, please contact us at [email protected].

Thanks.

We are getting a record number of requests for swim angels for this year's Bring on the Bay Open Water Swim. There is an urgent need for more swim angel volunteers. If you are available, or know someone who is, please contact us at [email protected]. Thanks in advance.

I was honoured to meet Olympian Maggie MacNeil at the Olympink swim meet yesterday. I had a chance to tell her about the Cathy Brooks Swim Angel Program and all the wonderful things that the angels have done over the years since the inception of the program.

We are currently looking for experienced open water swimmers who would like to volunteer as swim angels for this year's Bring on the Bay. You don't need to be fast, and you don't need to be a lifeguard. We'll provide the safety training and you'll be well prepared to help a swimmer achieve their goal of swimming Bring on the Bay. It's a rewarding experience. And also, a lot of FUN. If you are interested, or know someone who is, please ask them to send an e-mail to [email protected]. Thanks.