INDEPENDENT financial adviser Mike Oliver Associates has been announced as the main sponsors for this year’s Lions Club Swimarathon.

The Haywards Heath IFA, which recently celebrated its 16th anniversary, will lend its support to the event for the second year running, after the 2017 Swimarathon saw 57 teams swim 7,836 lengths to raise more than £19,000.

Now in its 35th year, the Haywards Heath Lions Club Swimarathon is an annual charity fundraising event held at the Dolphin Leisure Centre.

Teams of six can swim in a 55-minute-long relay, raising money for their chosen charity as well as the Lions’ selected good cause.

This year, the initiative will spotlight Time4Children, a small charity based in Haywards Heath which works with children between age 4 and 12 to improve their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Organisers said the sponsorship provided by Mike Oliver Associates will pay for hiring The Dolphin Leisure Centre swimming pool.

The sponsorship continues Mike Oliver’s impressive track record with sporting charity events, such as the Haywards Heath and Brighton2Paris bike rides.

“The Swimarathon is a fantastic event which brings together the Sussex community to support some really good causes,” said Mike Oliver, principal of Mike Oliver Associates.

“I’m keen to encourage others to take up a more physical lifestyle.”