I hope that I can have a few minutes of your attention after a tough start to pre season training. I want to tell you about the challenge that Stuart Spiers has taken on with the help of three friends.

Some of you have already donated generous amounts and some of you have heard enough already, but I wanted to send out an official message to the club website to ask for your support for, what I’m sure you will agree, is a fantastic charity.

The Cause:

Most of you will know Stuart Spiers but many of you will not know that Stuart and his wife (Sarah) have a 10 year old autistic son called Rupert. As a friend of Stuart, I am only vaguely aware of the challenges that he and all of his family face on a day to day basis so I would rather use Stu and Sarah’s words to illustrate what this is like.

Rupert is our beautiful 10-year-old son who absolutely adores being in the water and no doubt wishes he could ride alongside the 'Big Dippers' watching out for sharks and all other kinds of scary sea creatures that might tag along during the swim.

Along with his love of water and absolutely everything Disney, you'll find a very sweet, loving little boy with a cheeky sense of humour who like his father spends most of his time showing off his 'gymnastic' prowess and love of movement and music in front of the mirror or to any willing audience.

Rupert is also Autistic which comes with lots of challenges and unpredictability on day-to-day life for not only himself but also his family which is compounded by the fact that he is non-verbal. Due to his challenges Rup's requires a lot of extra support and attention as he tries to navigate the world around him and probably will throughout the rest of his life. Which includes everything from his personal care to helping him achieve a life full of opportunity and promise.

When you become a parent you have an inbuilt wish list of dreams and milestones that you imagine ticking off as your children go through life; first words, making friends, playing rugby for the same club as your father and grandfather played for when they were young, a first kiss, going through school and getting a job to getting married and having their own children to name just a few. Obviously we have had to re-imagine what lies ahead for Rupert, which we can honestly say is something we struggle with and sadly always will.

Life can be extremely hard for children like Rupert but it's also very hard on the rest of the family. We miss out on an awful lot of opportunities and experiences, ranging from the mundane to the exceptional. As supportive parents it has become our greatest challenge in life to try and bridge that gap as much as we can. This is where the amazing people at our charitable partner We Are Beams step in.

The Charity:

We Are Beams was originally set up in 1996 by a group of parents who believed that they could deliver better support for their disabled children than that of which they were getting from the local authority.

They provide comprehensive support services to children and young people with any form of physical, learning or sensory impairment. They also offer a much-needed family advice service where they ensure parents and carers receive the right information to help them make better informed decisions regarding their disabled children.

We know all too well how hard school holidays can be for children that depend on routine and who cannot fully access other local activities available to families, this is where Beams can help with their short breaks service which offer a range of leisure activities and holiday clubs as well as their Dragons Retreat respite unit where they provide overnight care which promotes independent living skills in a fun home-from-home environment as well as allowing the rest of the family a much needed break.

The Challenge:

The aim is for the four us to share the distance of water between Dover and somewhere around Cap Gris-Nez depending on tides, currents and probably more crucially our ability to swim in the right direction. The distance between these two points is 21 miles but I suspect that we will end up doing a fair amount more than that. Between the four of us we have set ourselves a target of sub 14 hours so as you can imagine, swimming in the pitch black is not out of the question!

Here is the JustGiving link and thank you very much in advance for your support. We have genuinely amazed at the level of support that we’ve received already. It really is appreciated.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/the-big-dip-1714593588045?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fthe-big-dip-1714593588045&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

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I am delighted to tell you that Stuart and his friends completed the swim, raising oodles for their charity - Beams. It is still possible to make a donation so please help if you can.

all of us at the Vigo Family send a great big 'Well Done' to Stuart and his team