North County Students Ages 10 to 16 Heading to Italy to Pursue Fourth World Record in Open-Ocean Swi
DEL MAR, CALIF. – Six students and four teachers from Sea Change Preparatory, a small private school located in downtown Del Mar, will be heading to Italy later this month in an attempt to set their fourth world record in open-ocean swimming. It’s just the latest in a series of groundbreaking accomplishments for the students, ages 10 to 16, who started the acclaimed swim program as beginners and discovered their inner strengths through the school’s unique mindful – and physically inspiring –approach to education.
The Zombies Swim Team will fly to Italy on May 27 to prepare for their race, which will take them 32 nautical miles from the island of Ischia to the neighboring island of Capri and back. The kids will swim in pairs for one hour at a time in open waters. This is the first time this race course has been attempted.
Sea Change Prep is an innovative “micro-school” located steps from the beach, focused on providing a rigorous college preparatory program that is individualized for the needs and goals of each student. As its name suggests, the school takes an innovative approach to education, combining challenging academics with inspiring physical education, world travel, professional art and music instruction, and a mindfulness-based social and emotional learning component. This highly collaborative environment allows Sea Change students to discover their strengths and experience personal transformations not possible in a traditional school environment.
The Zombies swim team holds three previous world swimming records, including relays from Santa Barbara to Anacapa Island (42 miles), Santa Rosa Island to Goleta (27 miles), and along the west coast of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands (28.5 miles). The team has also completed major world-class swimming feats such as solo swims from Alcatraz to San Francisco and a relay crossing of the English Channel, which earned them a congratulatory letter from Former President Barak Obama in 2015.
“Our mission is to empower each student, so they can achieve their maximum potential, and that goes beyond success in the classroom alone,” said John Allcock, director of mindfulness for Sea Change Prep. “We believe that mindfulness and physical fitness play key roles in building self-confidence, healthy habits and an overall sense of wellness. Our students learn daily that they are capable of far more than they ever imagined. With each success, big or small, they learn to overcome challenges, not just in the water, but in life.”
A GoFundMe page has been created to support the Zombies swim team. Funds raised will be used to cover Marathon Swimmers Federation fees, travel and lodging in Italy for the Zombies team, as well as expenses such as boat rental, captain and support crew services.
Sea Change Preparatory provides a proven, specialized academic program for students in grades 4-12, which inspires and motivates students in a small, mindful environment where individual skills, abilities and gifts are nurtured and rewarded. To learn more or schedule a school tour, visit www.seachangeprep.com or call (858) 461-0953.