Help ZOMBIES swim Molokai to Oahu
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Help the Arch Academy Zombies swim the Ka’iwi Channel in the Hawaiian Islands, in August, 2016!
The Zombies will confront 28.5 miles of big waves and strong winds on their way from Molokai to Oahu
The Zombies have accomplished a lot so far:
1) A world-record-setting relay swim, in Southern California’s Channel Islands (41 mi) 9/2015 - done
2) The English Channel Relay (21 mi) 6/2015 - done
3) The Catalina Channel Relay (21 mi) 9/2014 - done
4) The Alcatraz Sharkfest (1.5 mi) 6/2014 - done
The Zombies are the Swim team of the Arch Academy, in San Diego, CA. They are a group of students with special challenges who are defying expectations and transcending limitations.
With autism, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, ADHD, drug or alcohol issues, these are students who are viewed by most people as having limited potential. At the Arch Academy, they are being challenged, and their achievements are astonishing!
Academically, all Arch Academy students are on a college prep track. With every success, each student's bar gets raised. The same is true for athletics. Swimming started in the pool: then summer swims in the Pacific Ocean were added. When this became routine, the Zombie Patrol* was "spawned". A group of 14 high school students, each with one or more of the challenges listed above, chose to join Arch Academy Head of School Cheryl Zak for 6:00am ocean swims three days a week throughout the year, often in cold and rough conditions. Their goal was to do something spectacular: participate in the Alcatraz Sharkfest swim! All Zombies accomplished the swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco, CA on June 7, 2014!
How do you follow that? Raise the bar! The Zombies added nighttime swims and trained five times a week for the Catalina Channel Relay. On September 5, 2014, the Zombies left the Catalina Island shore just before midnight, and swam to Palos Verdes, CA, finishing the 21-mile relay in just under 12 hours without the aid of wetsuits or fins.
Raising the bar again, the Zombies decided to take on the English Channel, with colder water and a reputation as the “Main Event” of channel swimming. On June 25th, 2015, swimming through water as cold as 54 degrees, and of course without wetsuits or fins, each and every Zombie did their part in bringing their English Channel relay to a successful conclusion!
And yet again, the bar goes up: a never-been-done-before 41-mile relay swim from Santa Barbara Island to Anacapa Island, two of the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast. Just three months after their English Channel crossing, on September 24th, 2015 twelve Zombies swam for 27 hours and 10 minutes, setting a world record as the first relay team to complete this swim!
So far the Zombies have endured seasickness, 10 foot swells, jellyfish stings, anxiety, swimming for miles at night in the pitch black ocean, and have acclimated to hour-long swims in 55-degree water temperatures (BRRRR!!!) without wetsuits or fins. (Zombie leader Cheryl Zak is doing all this while living with MS, teaching by example that limitations can be transcended.)
By their example, the Zombies hope to change how society views all children with similar disabilities and challenges. The swims they have completed are a big part of this, but so are their strong bonds as teammates, their appreciation for the opportunities and the support they have received, and their work as individuals learning to be productive members of society.
Please help support the Zombies’ amazing dedication, athleticism, will power, team bonding and team spirit as they continue to train and prepare for this mighty and impressive swim in August of 2016. GO ZOMBIES!
*Zombie Patrol - the students chose this name for their team because waking up between 4 and 4:30am makes them feel like "Zombies".
Big thanks go to Dan Simonelli, the Zombie's awesome ocean swim coach, for working with the team and helping make all of this possible! And a big shout out to all the boat captains and support crews - we couldn't do this without you!
ARCH ACADEMY - San Diego, CA website
The Zombies will confront 28.5 miles of big waves and strong winds on their way from Molokai to Oahu
The Zombies have accomplished a lot so far:
1) A world-record-setting relay swim, in Southern California’s Channel Islands (41 mi) 9/2015 - done
2) The English Channel Relay (21 mi) 6/2015 - done
3) The Catalina Channel Relay (21 mi) 9/2014 - done
4) The Alcatraz Sharkfest (1.5 mi) 6/2014 - done
The Zombies are the Swim team of the Arch Academy, in San Diego, CA. They are a group of students with special challenges who are defying expectations and transcending limitations.
With autism, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, ADHD, drug or alcohol issues, these are students who are viewed by most people as having limited potential. At the Arch Academy, they are being challenged, and their achievements are astonishing!
Academically, all Arch Academy students are on a college prep track. With every success, each student's bar gets raised. The same is true for athletics. Swimming started in the pool: then summer swims in the Pacific Ocean were added. When this became routine, the Zombie Patrol* was "spawned". A group of 14 high school students, each with one or more of the challenges listed above, chose to join Arch Academy Head of School Cheryl Zak for 6:00am ocean swims three days a week throughout the year, often in cold and rough conditions. Their goal was to do something spectacular: participate in the Alcatraz Sharkfest swim! All Zombies accomplished the swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco, CA on June 7, 2014!
How do you follow that? Raise the bar! The Zombies added nighttime swims and trained five times a week for the Catalina Channel Relay. On September 5, 2014, the Zombies left the Catalina Island shore just before midnight, and swam to Palos Verdes, CA, finishing the 21-mile relay in just under 12 hours without the aid of wetsuits or fins.
Raising the bar again, the Zombies decided to take on the English Channel, with colder water and a reputation as the “Main Event” of channel swimming. On June 25th, 2015, swimming through water as cold as 54 degrees, and of course without wetsuits or fins, each and every Zombie did their part in bringing their English Channel relay to a successful conclusion!
And yet again, the bar goes up: a never-been-done-before 41-mile relay swim from Santa Barbara Island to Anacapa Island, two of the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast. Just three months after their English Channel crossing, on September 24th, 2015 twelve Zombies swam for 27 hours and 10 minutes, setting a world record as the first relay team to complete this swim!
So far the Zombies have endured seasickness, 10 foot swells, jellyfish stings, anxiety, swimming for miles at night in the pitch black ocean, and have acclimated to hour-long swims in 55-degree water temperatures (BRRRR!!!) without wetsuits or fins. (Zombie leader Cheryl Zak is doing all this while living with MS, teaching by example that limitations can be transcended.)
By their example, the Zombies hope to change how society views all children with similar disabilities and challenges. The swims they have completed are a big part of this, but so are their strong bonds as teammates, their appreciation for the opportunities and the support they have received, and their work as individuals learning to be productive members of society.
Please help support the Zombies’ amazing dedication, athleticism, will power, team bonding and team spirit as they continue to train and prepare for this mighty and impressive swim in August of 2016. GO ZOMBIES!
*Zombie Patrol - the students chose this name for their team because waking up between 4 and 4:30am makes them feel like "Zombies".
Big thanks go to Dan Simonelli, the Zombie's awesome ocean swim coach, for working with the team and helping make all of this possible! And a big shout out to all the boat captains and support crews - we couldn't do this without you!
ARCH ACADEMY - San Diego, CA website
Organizer
Angela Dawson
Organizer
Carlsbad, CA