7km for £7k Penistone to Stocksbridge Swim

Aim

I’m swimming the distance between Penistone and Stocksbridge to raise money for an accessible changing room at Stocksbridge Leisure Centre.

I’m excited to launch my first Penistone to Stocksbridge Constituency Sponsored Swim to raise money towards an accessible changing room at Stocksbridge Leisure Centre. I’ll be swimming 7km – the distance between Penistone and Stocksbridge – to raise £7k towards adapting a changing room at the leisure centre into a fully accessible disabled changing room.

Stocksbridge Leisure Centre is a special place to me. When I was growing up, I learned to swim at the baths at the Leisure Centre, overlooking our incredible Stocksbridge valley. Never in my wildest dreams, when I was doing swim training three times a week as a 14-year-old, would I have believed that one day I’d become the MP for the area. 

I want to give back to the place that gave me so much by helping to fundraise to make the swimming pool more accessible for local disabled people.

Increasing access to sport for local disabled children and young people is something I’m passionate about. When I was at school in Penistone, I was left to referee netball and hockey matches for my non-disabled classmates. There was no understanding that I might be able to join in too, as a disabled person. That’s why inclusive sport is so important to me.

I want everyone in Stocksbridge and beyond to be able to use this wonderful community resource. Stocksbridge Leisure Centre currently doesn’t have fully accessible poolside changing facilities, so I’m proud to be swimming 7km to raise £7k towards transforming an existing space at the centre into a fully accessible changing room.

7km (or 4.5 miles) is 280 lengths of the pool, and the distance from Penistone to Stocksbridge – two of the main towns in my constituency. Raising the target goal of £7,000 would contribute approximately 20% of the total cost of £35,000 to convert an existing room in at the leisure centre into a fully accessible changing room.

I’ll be completing the swim at the baths at Stocksbridge Community Leisure Centre at the end of November. You’ll be able to sponsor the project after I have completed the swim as well.

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"This is a much needed project that will benefit the Centre immensely. The existing facilities are dated and not very welcoming. We have wanted to carry out this work for some time but have not had available funds or been able to source grant funding. When we were approached by Marie offering to raise funds for the Centre, through a sponsored swim, this seemed a perfect opportunity to refurbish and enhance existing facilities.

"We are very grateful to Marie for making such a huge commitment to the Centre."

Graham Silverwood, Stocksbridge Community Leisure Centre

This project successfully funded on 25th December 2025