Students from EM Normandie challenged themselves to swim across the English Channel

Three students from EM Normandie are taking on an ambitious and unusual challenge: swimming across the English Channel in a relay, starting in Dover and finishing between Calais and Wissant between 11 and 15 June 2025.

The idea was initiated by Pierre Rolland, a third-year student on the Master in Management programme at Oxford, an experienced 20-year-old swimmer who suffers from thalassophobia yet has dreamed of achieving this sporting feat for many years. His idea was met with great enthusiasm by his friends Arthur Velasco and Nicolas Benady, aged 20 and 21, whom he met on the Oxford campus of EM Normandie Business School, and they did not hesitate to join him in this adventure. Sharing a taste for challenge and a desire to push themselves to the limit, these three friends, currently in their third year of the Master in Management programme, decided to create the SQUID'EM association in order to make their project a reality and fulfil their dream.

Crossing the English Channel: the Everest of swimming

Considered the Everest of swimming, crossing the English Channel is a challenge that only 1,500 people have managed to complete in relay since the first crossing in 1875. Pierre, Arthur and Nicolas will each have to swim between 40 and 80 kilometres, depending on the sea currents, in 13-degree water, wearing nothing but swimming trunks.

Their crossing will take place between 11 and 15 June 2025, depending on weather conditions, setting off from Dover Beach in England. After around 15 hours, they should reach Wissant. They will be escorted by a boat with a member of the CS&PF (Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation) association on board to ensure their safety and validate their crossing.

Through this adventure, the students wish to demonstrate the connection and cohesion between students at Oxford and EM Normandie Business School's French campuses, as well as between France and England. The additional funds they have raised to finance their project will be donated to the association GECC (Groupe d'Etude des Cétacés du Cotentin) for the protection of marine organisms in the English Channel.

Nous sommes conscients de l'ampleur du défi qui nous attend. Cette aventure représente pour nous bien plus qu'une simple traversée. C'est un voyage personnel, une opportunité de repousser nos limites, et une chance de créer des liens indéfectibles entre nous. Ensemble, nous sommes prêts à affronter les eaux froides et capricieuses de la Manche, portés par notre passion et notre détermination à réaliser ce rêve commun.
Explains Pierre Roland, president of the Squid'EM association.

Would you like to talk to these students? They will tell you more about this ambitious and unusual project, including their physical preparation and how the crossing will unfold.

You can also go with them on the boat during this challenge to report on their adventure... if you don't suffer from seasickness!