BECOME A PINK CHAMPION FOR BREAST CANCER TRIALS LIKE FUGEN CONSTRUCTIONS
Here is a recap on the 2024 Cole Classic with race director, John Thompson, and the team at Fugen Constructions. By becoming a Pink Champion and entering a sporting event, your workplace can raise vital funds for breast cancer research.
For more than four decades, the Cole Classic has been a cornerstone event at the iconic Manly beach and is one of Australia’s most celebrated ocean swims and peer-to-peer events.
The Cole Classic hosts a one kilometer, two kilometer or five kilometer swim option, and encourages participants to fundraise for various charities.
“My name is John Thompson. I’m the Race Director of the Cole Classic. This is the fifth year that Manly Lifesaving Club has owned the Cole Classic, and it’s just getting bigger and better every year.
Pictured: John Thompson, Race Director of the Cole Classic.
“In 1983, a gentleman named Graham Cole started the Cole Classic. And he did his bronze medallion at Manly when he was a younger person.”
“And then he went over to Hawaii and swam the Waikiki Rough Water Challenge, and then he came back to Bondi, where he was living at the time, and decided he wanted to start a people’s ocean swim. An ocean swim that wasn’t exclusive to Surf Life Saving members.”
“Members of the public would come in and swim, and the Surf Life Saving Club would provide water safety. So, in 2005 the Cold Classic made its way to Manly. And that’s where it’s stayed ever since.”
“Last year we had 4,600, which was a record. This year we’re going to cap it at 5,100, a little bit over 10 percent increase, just to make sure that we can grow the event comfortably and still run a fun and safe event.”
“In terms of the teams, there’s lots of teams that have entered, a little bit over a hundred at the moment, but that could be anywhere from a two person, through to a hundred plus person team. I think we have two teams now that have over a hundred swimmers in each team and there’s some really awesome camaraderie that goes on there.”
Listen to the Podcast
In this episode, you’ll hear a recap on the 2024 Cole Classic with race director, John Thompson, and the team at Fugen Constructions. By becoming a Pink Champion and entering a sporting event, your workplace can raise vital funds for breast cancer research.
Mr Stephen Flannery, Managing Director of Fugen Constructions, describes what to expect, and the importance of supporting Breast Cancer Trials research through the Cole Classic.
“So, the name of the team, ‘The Rack Pack’ came up through Rachel and we decided to do a breast cancer aligned charity again this year, after 2010, we had the ‘Builders Love Boobs’ event.”
“So, it’s been 10 years since my wife passed away. So, the family decided we’d just do another swim for Breast Cancer Trials. So, we have this band of team members on this email list from people who have swam since day dot.”
“And we just send an email out in December some time saying that this is the charity that we’ve picked, and we set up the websites, and Nicole, my PA, runs most of that.”
“And after talking to some of the ladies in the office, because I thought I’d put it out to them, because that’s who are primarily affected, they said, everyone talks about post-treatment but what about actually trying to prevent it?”
“So, I thought, fantastic, and that’s when I got onto Professor Fran Boyle, and the Breast Cancer Trials organisation came up. So, the focus for me is why not try to stop it before you have to look after it? And we just thought, why not have a crack this year, and see how much we raise?”
Pictured: Stephen Flannery with Staff at Fugen Constructions.
“We’re currently at $36,000 hopefully we make $50,000, so for the whole swim team for over the 15 or 16 years that we’ve participated, it’ll be roughly $500,000 that we have raise for the various 16 or 17 odd charities that we’ve done. It doesn’t matter how much you raise or what you do, you just make a difference.”
“I was lucky that when I started, I had a really good passion for it, and it was an emotional thing for me. And every year has been a bit different for different people, but once you build the momentum, and everyone knows that in the first week in February, the Fugen team is going to be doing something, people get excited.”
“So, it just seems to be that people have just got this connection with really charitable people, and they’ve got really good sponsors. So, you know, they say Fugen raised all this money, but it’s 60 individuals that have raised a minimum of $200 each. So, they’ve got their parents, their best friends, there’s been 12-year-olds participating who have raised $200, and those girls now are now 24 and still raising money from their friends.”
“I’m lucky I’ve got a big support group of friends and people that we work with in the industry who are good suppliers, subcontractors, friends, and clients that are strong supporters. So, everyone wants to be involved. It’s good.”
Mr Reece Moffat, Construction Manager at Fugen Constructions, discusses the importance of supporting Breast Cancer Trials research.
“My name is Reece Moffat. I work at Fugen Constructions as a Construction Manager. I think most people are affected by breast cancer in some shape or form. I’ve got a lot of loved ones that have been directly affected by breast cancer, so it means a lot to raise money for Breast Cancer Trials this year.”
Pictured: Reece with his Wife and their Baby.
“So, it’s a really rewarding time raising money, no matter what the fundraiser is, but especially for Breast Cancer Trials. Knowing that we’ve raised such a significant amount and how far that money will go really does give you a sense of achievement and knowing so many people affected by breast cancer directly or indirectly, it really does make you feel good about yourself to be a part of this.”
“This year will be my 11th consecutive year swimming in the Cole Classic and being part of Fugen Swim Team. Fugen Constructions build a swimming team every year. It begins within the company, so we’ll have the young cadets, all the way through to the senior project managers and site managers.”
“Everyone is welcome to compete, and then it’s spread out to their partners, their friends, and their family as well. So, my partner has been doing it for six years and she loves it. It’s a day in our calendar every year that we don’t miss.”
“Training is up to the individual. So, some people train when they get there on the day. Other people swim all year round, most of them start concentrating in January, but the admin of it starts probably in December. We start ordering shirts, sending emails out, and then Nicole registers the team in the Cole Classic and sets up the charity page as well,” said Stephen.
“And then the emails just start going out. I start my fundraising usually about the first or second week in January when everyone starts coming back. And then the team just grows from that with the weekly or fortnightly emails. And then the week leading up to the Cole Classic is probably the more intense part about organising, including the barbecues, tents, and food.”
“We feed probably between 100 and 120 people. By the time you have 50 or 60 in your swim team, then you’ve got people that don’t want to swim but want to support us. We’ve got parents there watching their kids, so it just varies about how many we have.”
“So, in the past three months I’ve ramped up the training for the Cole Classic. We are part of the back of the pack in the event. So, the less serious side of things, but we still like to stretch our arms and kick our legs before the event to get into the swing of things and not go in too cold”, said Reece.
“So, there’s a team of 60 odd this year. Some train, some don’t, and obviously we all try to get the best out of ourselves, while raising money for a good cause.”
We spoke with Race Director, John Thompson, about what is involved on the morning of the Cole Classic.
“The day of the Cole Classic starts early. I’d say some of the crew would start arriving here at around about 4:00 AM. All of the surf lifesaving, the IRBs, and the rescue boats are prepped the day before, but then the team is down here super early in the morning” said John.
“We’re moving stuff around, inflating about 15 of the massive marker buoys that we have out on the course. We’re checking anchors, we’re putting signs up, we’re moving all the registration packs downstairs for all the swimmers to pick up, which is about 1,100 T-shirts and 300 volunteer T-shirts. We’re also setting up the water safety components, so the swimmer support, and the rash vests that all water safety crew use.”
“6:30 AM is showtime, that’s when the registration opens up, the swimmers will start filing in. It is really action-stations.”
“So, the morning of the Cole Classic is great. There’s a buzz in the air and we all look forward to the day. So personally, what I get out of the Cole Classic is a real sense of achievement,” said Reece.
“The physical build up to it and the swim is great, there’s a rush of endorphins afterwards as you try to get the best out of your body, but beyond that, it’s bigger than that. We’re raising money for Breast Cancer Trials this year, and it’s just great knowing that people are willing to support the fundraising that you do leading up to the event.”
“As well as that, after the swim we all get together, we reflect on the swim and what we’re raising money for. We have a bacon and egg sandwich and just get together as a swimming team.”
“So, we do a bit of a roster, but we normally get there about 6:30 AM and we set up on the Manly Ferry side. We’re just directly behind the surf club. So we set up our tent, barbecues, everything. We go get our tags, and then we come back to the tent, and that’s about it,” said Stephen.
“And then it’s just like herding cats. We make a big announcement, so everyone comes, collects their t-shirts, and there’s swimmers that we provide for everyone. And then we then go to the surf club, leave our clothes there. And then, as I say, we do the walk of shame between Manly Surf Club around to Shelley Beach. And then most years, except for two or three, we’ll swim back into Manly.”
Pictured: The ‘Walk of Shame’ from the Fugen Tent to Manly Beach.
“And then we go from Manly. We all finish at different times depending on what wave we’re in and how everyone goes, and then we all make our way back to the tent and there’s a barbecue on for everyone.”
“So, we have a great barbecue, the banter’s going everywhere and then there has been known to be swapping of tags. So, one of our slowest swimmers, Flitty, The White Whale, he calls himself, swapped with me one time and a blind 90-year-old beat me home in a one kilometer swim. But anyway, that’s all part of the banter.”
“We won’t admit it, but there is definitely some competition in the office. There’s some young blood in the office now that are sort of chomping at everyone’s feet to try to get the fastest swim. A few years ago, one of the site managers actually swapped the race tag, the clip that goes on the swimmer, with someone else who was faster,” said Reece.
“So, when he crossed the finish line, it said that he finished about 10 minutes quicker than he actually did. So, there’s, there’s a bit of banner there. There’s a lot of fun that goes on.”
We spoke to members of the Fugen Constructions team on race day to hear their thoughts about the event and raising funds for breast cancer research.
“I’m really excited, this is I think my 15th year of doing the Cole Classic with Fugen so really excited to be here today.”
“I’m feeling pretty good, excited, looking forward to it. It’s my first one, so I think it’ll be good. Everyone’s in a pretty good mood and I think based on a few years ago, I hear some of the boys talking about the barbeque, so it seems like a great day.”
“I’m feeling pretty good. High spirits. We’ve got a big team this year, which is good, everyone sticks together.”
“So, my training plan has involved swimming at the club on a Saturday morning, and the odd swim on Sunday morning. If I make it out of the water at the other end, I’ve done well.”
“We’re feeling great! We’re excited and it’s great to be here with a big bunch of people. I’m hoping to finish under 20 minutes if we can if all goes well.”
“My training has pretty much been having some wine over Christmas and a little ocean swimming. That’s been the training. So, we’ll be right to do it, but we haven’t busted a gut to do it because we can both swim, so we’re fine. We’re just here to have a bit of fun. We’re not really worried about the time.”
“My favourite part of the day is the community. It’s just marvelous. You get out of the water and there’s people cheering you on and then this marvelous barbecue that we have at the end here, catching up with people that we saw last year, so that’s my favourite part of the day.”
“I think it’s a fabulous fun time! I’m an okay swimmer, I’m not a really good swimmer, but even for those of us who aren’t fantastic swimmers, it’s a fabulous day, really, really good fun.”
“It’s community gathering and all being part of a very worthwhile fundraising cause. Steve Flannery who organises this each year, has a different charity each year and it’s always great. But Breast Cancer Trials I think is something that’s very special to Steve, and a lot of us here.”
The Fugen Rack Pack raised an incredible $78,907 for BCT, a testament to the commitment, generosity, and comradery of their community. We cannot thank them enough for their tremendous effort and the impact they will have on the lives of those facing breast cancer.
Pictured: The Fugen ‘Rack Pack’ Team.
“My name’s Megan from Breast Cancer Trials. For those of you who don’t know, Breast Cancer Trials is one of the leading breast cancer research organisations in the world. We’re dedicated to finding new treatments and better research strategies to save lives from breast cancer.”
“Over the past 20 years, deaths from breast cancer have actually fallen 30 percent and that’s because of our research program. But unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. Today, 57 people will be told they have breast cancer.”
“That’s why every single one of you is so crucial and important. The $70,000 you have raised for Breast Cancer Trials is going to make a huge difference to our research program, so from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all, your friends and family, and everyone who donated. This is a fantastic effort.”
Our life-saving breast cancer research is only possible thanks to the continued generosity of our supporters. Please help continue this vital work by making a donation today. Find out more about how you can become a Pink Champion!
