A worldwide ‘first’ as Sky Sports is covering The Big Rugby Swim in an extended 1 hour documentary: Rugby Union vs Rugby League Relay Race across the English Channel in ‘The Big Rugby Swim’

Alix Popham, former Welsh International and co-founder of Head for Change, has continued his dedication to fundraising for brain health in rugby by preparing for The Big Rugby Swim 2023 that takes place between 7th – 12th October 2023.

A “worldwide first” for an event of this nature, bringing together ex-rugby league and union players in two teams of 6, to swim the English Channel brings its challenges.

The objective of the event, whilst raising funds, is to raise the profile and awareness of Head for Change – headforchange.org.uk and the plans being made to protect players and protect the game of rugby.

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Of this extraordinary challenge, Alix Popham, Co-founder, said:

“It is amazing to see this all come together, after the huge effort for both Mel and I to make this happen, it has all been worth it. I feel incredibly proud to be taking part in this epic challenge with the two codes of the rugby family: rugby union and rugby league, coming together as one.

Yes, it’s a race but first, for me,  it is about raising awareness and vital funds for our care and support, educational and research programmes in rugby. For me personally, it is a huge challenge as until 18 months ago I could only swim a few lengths.  To now be swimming the English Channel in less than 6 months is massive but it’s a challenge I’m embracing and the bond between us all already is amazing.  Pushing each other on with training and encouraging each other, it’s brilliant for us all to be part of a team again – the banter gets you through the tough days and the aches and pains!

We’ve got a lot more work to do to be ready to complete the swim in October but I’m confident that we’ll make it happen together and I’m looking forward to the impact we’re going to make to the wider rugby family through the awareness we will raise and also the much needed funds.”

Although the English Channel Swim is stated to be 22 miles long, the varying tides, rough conditions and changeable weather often present a number of problems and can result in a much longer swim, with one person being swept off course and having to swim 65 miles!

The difficult conditions, including varying water temperature, in what is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world make this a challenging  event for the most experienced of swimmers and so the planned participation of many ‘high profile’ stars from both rugby union and rugby league representing Head for Change is definitely pushing these athletes beyond their comfort zones.

Trustee and Co-founder, Melanie Bramwell Popham added:

“When we first chatted to Mickii Edwards on a call last summer about the idea of getting a team of retired rugby players to swim the Channel it seemed like an incredibly big challenge and somewhat a dream, so I’m truly delighted to be a part of actually making this happen.

As a small, start-up charity ‘The Big Rugby Swim’ is certainly our biggest and most ambitious challenge yet.  However, the potential for the amount of awareness and fundraising this event will generate makes all the effort and late nights of planning worth it.

I’m in awe of Alix and all of the other retired players who have signed up to take on this epic challenge; watching the progress of some who could hardly swim a few lengths in January has been inspirational.  The journey the boys are going on together in the training for this is a special one, taking them back to being part of a team, that sense of camaraderie is brilliant to watch and be a part of.  Alix and I weren’t sure how it would work, bringing together two teams from both codes, with a well-known rivalry – but from the first introduction meeting back in January the bonds were built and life-long friendships created.

Whilst it’s a race between Union and League for the main event, those unique values of the rugby family have brought everyone together as one big team, all choosing to be part of the solution and support Head for Change.  The work we will be able to do with the funds raised from The Big Rugby Swim will make a huge difference to those retired players of both codes already suffering with neurodegenerative disease but also help us to prevent current and future players suffering in the same way.”

Head for Change is a charitable foundation, pioneering positive change for brain health in sport and supporting ex-players who are affected by neurodegenerative disease as a result of their professional sporting career in rugby and football.

Alix retired from rugby in 2011 and in April 2020 was diagnosed with probable CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and early onset dementia as a result of traumatic brain injury suffered in his rugby career and is now a leading light in the campaign to increase the awareness of the disease and bring positive change to the game he loves.

Media exposure has further highlighted the issue, with confirmation that Carl Hayman, amongst many others, is suffering with the disease.

This increasing awareness is enlightening the various sports bodies to the issues and the need to address the problem, not only for those currently suffering but as a means of educating current and future players for best practice in contact sports.

The two teams competing in The Big Rugby Swim are:

Rugby Union: Alix Popham (Captain), Ian Gough, Kieran Low, Ollie Phillips, Matt Dwyer and Ben Pegna with Coach, Dave Tonge (Heathwood Swimming) and Team Manager, Melanie Bramwell-Popham.

Rugby League: Mickii Edwards (Captain), Denis Betts, Jason Critchley,  Mick Cassidy, Kev Brown and  Cliff Eccles with Coach, Dee Harmer (Fish2Water), and Team Manager, Sian Rees.

Former professional rugby league and union player, Mickii Edwards, said of the challenge:

“The Big Rugby Swim means the world to me – it’s making the impossible possible for me personally and for my rugby family.  We’re united in this and determined together that we can bring positive change and become the difference that will mean so much to so many suffering already, and to stop players suffering in the future.  I’m so proud to be of part of this and to be Captain of the Rugby League team. We are all supporting each through our training and we’re in this together, as one big team, here to take this on and raise as much money as possible doing it!”

Ben Ransom, Sky Sports News Reporter, said:

“At Sky Sports News we have been following this story from the very first moment that I helped Alix and Mel, as well as Steve Thompson, publicly share their struggles in 2020.  I remember them as warriors in their playing days, but it took an even greater bravery to show that vulnerability and to open themselves up so emotionally to talk about their struggles.

Ever since that point it has been a privilege to follow them on their journey, and having personally got to know Alix and Mel over that time, the one thing that I can say with some degree of certainty is that no challenge is too big!

“The wider issue of concussion in sport is clearly an incredibly important talking point, and one that we have always tried to showcase on Sky Sports News, so I’m delighted to have the opportunity to document the highs and lows of this latest venture.”

What makes this challenge extraordinary is that some of the ex-professional elite sportspeople could not swim a year ago and the training has been arduous, with very early starts and late nights, as well as weekends away from their daily lives to ensure they can be as prepared as they can be for what has been described as the biggest physical, mental and emotional challenge of their lives.

This challenge has been generously supported by the following brands. If you would like to be part of the solution, please contact: mel@headforchange.org.uk to discuss further opportunities:-

Huub Design: https://huubdesign.com/– clothing and kit
HeatForm: https://www.heatform.co.uk/– boats’ sponsor and exercise pools
Fish 2 Water: https://f2w.co.uk/ – open water swim coaching
Heathwood Swimming: https://heathwoodswimming.com/ – endless swimming pool teaching and coaching
The Celtic Manor: https://www.celtic-manor.com/ – host for training weekends and get togethers
Sky Sports: https://www.skysports.com/– main media coverage and documentary
Bio Synergy: https://www.bio-synergy.uk/ – supplements and sports nutrition
CamperKing: https://www.camperking.co.uk/ – transport

To support Alix and the other former professional rugby players, turned swimmers, please visit the JustGiving page.

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