Sixth annual Procter sisters' Swim of Hope

Aug 14, 2014

For the past six years the Procter sisters Becki, Theresa and Katie have swum across Sharbot Lake every year from the dock at Sharbot Lake Provincial Park to the sandy shore at Oso beach in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. They all agreed that this year's swim offered up “the best weather ever. ” Perhaps that was the reason why their father, Mike Procter jumped in and joined the ladies in the water for the stretch between the two islands before the trio finally touched down and walked up Oso beach to the applause of a crowd of well wishers. The three-kilometre swim took the women 1.5 hours to complete and is a challenging one. Becki admitted they would be feeling the effects of their exertion for sure the next day. The swim was made easier this year because the water was “amazingly calm, relatively warm and with just a few cold spots”.

The 2014 swim so far has raised over $800 for the Canadian Cancer Society. The sisters each live and work in different parts of the province but they grew up in Sharbot Lake. One year they missed the local Relay for Life event and felt that they wanted to do something on their own to contribute, so they came up with the idea for an annual swim fundraiser for cancer. “We wanted to do something for the CCS and always wanted to swim across the lake so we thought an annual swim would be a great way to get together with the family, swim the lake and raise some funds for the CCS,” Theresa said when I spoke to the trio at the beach just as they arrived. During the swim the sisters were accompanied in a boat by their parents. They were met on the beach by Katie's husband Greg and their three-year-old daughter Abigail, along with their brother Luke from Lindsay, Ont., his wife Beth and seven-month-old son Timothy. who made his first appearance at the beach to congratulate his three aunts. The non-swimming family members came armed with towels, food and cheers of encouragement and congratulations for the three swimmers. Those who might still want to donate to the 2014 Swim of Hope can do so online at

http://convio.cancer.ca/hopeswim2014.