By Sarah Halfpenny
A YEAR 12 student at St Bede’s College is diving in to help young people in disadvantaged communities, organising a team-based charity swim at Mentone Aquatic Centre on Sunday 3 May.
Angus Liddell, who is also a House Captain at the school, has created the MAD Day Swim to support St Bede’s annual Mission Action Day (MAD) fundraiser. Teams of four swimmers will take to the pool from 1:30pm to 3:30pm, following a 12.30pm warm-up.
“Teams of four swimmers rotate through a relay-style format over two hours, aiming to swim as far as possible,” Liddell said.
Each lap is counted, with the team covering the greatest distance declared the winner. Prize packs will also be awarded for the longest distance team and the highest fundraising team.
Liddell said the idea had been on his mind for some time. “This will be my sixth year taking part in MAD fundraising at St Bede’s, and each year I’ve always thought it would be fun to do something like swimming 10km for the event,” he said.
“Since swimming is a big part of my life, I decided this year to turn that idea into a larger team event to get more people involved.”
Teams have already formed from St Bede’s, Bayside Swim Club and Mentone Lifesaving Club, with more clubs still being approached. The fundraiser has passed $3,500 ahead of the swim day.
“All the money raised goes towards St Bede’s Mission Action Day, which supports young people in disadvantaged communities in Australia and overseas by helping provide access to education and better opportunities,” Liddell said.
Past MAD funds have gone to communities in Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Fiji.
Liddell is also involved in the local lifesaving community and sits on the Life Saving Victoria Junior Committee. He was recently named Junior Victorian Life Saver of the Year.
“Swimming is something I really enjoy, and being part of the St Bede’s swim team made it feel like a great opportunity to build something around that,” he told The News.
“As a House Captain at St Bede’s, I wanted to create something that would get more students involved in supporting a really important cause, while also being active and having fun.
“I’m hoping to bring people together, raise meaningful funds for MAD, and create something that could potentially continue in future years,” he said.
Donations and team registrations are open at mycause.com.au/p/389549
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone – 29 April 2026