Swim Brighton

West Pier, Brighton Beach.

2012 Race Details

Swim Brighton Race Series

Swim Round the Pier is part of Paddle Round the Pier, Europe’s biggest beach and watersports festival, which runs every year on the beautiful venue of Hove Lawns – Brighton & Hove –both swims begin on Brighton beach between the iconic Palace and West Piers, in the heart of Brighton’s vibrant seafront area.

Swim Round The Pier beach festival
6th, 7th & 8th July 2012

We are pleased to announce the Swim Round the Pier Swim Series featuring 3 unique races taking place as part of the famous Paddle Round the Pier Beach festival weekend.

Events

10 KM Olympic Distance Endurance Swim
Fri 6th July, 4pm
Entry Fee: £40

3 KM Middle Distance Challenge Swim
Sat 7th July, 2pm
Entry Fee: £25

1 KM Short Distance Fun Swim
Sun 8th July,  2pm
Entry Fee: £15

Race details & entry fees:

10 KM Olympic Distance Sea Swim -  £40

Friday 6th July, 4pm

This Olympic Distance event new for 2012 is held in honour of the 2012 games and is one of only a few 10km sea swims taking place in 2012. This event is open only to experienced sea swimmers.

Competition for places is sure to be fierce as there is a strict maximum limit to the number of swimmers who can compete.

Entry requirements
This is a non-wetsuit event and open only to persons 16 years and over. Swimwear must conform to English Channel Swimwear Rules (see below).

There is a 4 hour time limit for this event and hence only experienced open water swimmers will be accepted. You must be able to swim 10 KM in the sea comfortably.
You will be notified as to the success of your entry within 2 weeks of receipt of your application.

Age: 16+
Experience: Very experienced Sea Swimmers only. Must be able to swim 10km in the sea comfortably. Non-Wetsuit swimmers only.

3KM Middle Distance Challenge Swim - £25

Saturday 7th July, 2pm

Our classic 3km event starts at the Paddle Round The Pier Village and heads out to sea before we head around the West Pier and on towards the Palace Pier. On rounding the end buoy, we head back again via the West Pier before the final leg back into the Paddle Village.

The views of Brighton along the route are fantastic and well worth it.

Entry requirements
There are wetsuit and non-wetsuit race categories and the event is open only to persons 14 years and over. To qualify for the non-wetsuit race categories, your swimwear must conform to English Channel Swimwear Rules (see below).

There is a 1.5 hour time limit for this event. Experienced sea swimmers only. You must be able to swim 3 KM in the sea comfortably.

Age: 14+
Experience: Experienced Sea Swimmers only. Wetsuit and non-wetsuit race.

1KM Short Distance Fun Swim - £15

Sunday 8th July, 2pm

This fun swim is the finale of a great weekend of swimming events at the Paddle Round The Pier Beach Festival. It’s a great way for both experienced and inexperienced sea swimmers to complete a swim around Brighton’s iconic West Pier.

It’s a challenging swim for the novice open water swimmer, but the views of the beach and sense of achievement are well worth the effort.

Entry requirements:
There are wetsuit and non-wetsuit race categories and the event is open only to persons 12 years and over.

There is no time limit for this event. You should be a good standard of swimmer and sea swimming experience is desirable though not essential.
You must be able to swim 1KM in the sea or 2KM in the pool comfortably.

Age: 12+
Experience: Good standard of swimmers only. Sea swimming experience although desirable is not essential.

We suggest that if you are new to sea swimming, you attempt the 1KM Short Distance Fun Swim this year.

Details

Swimmers will set off in waves according to their swim speed. You will be sent the time of your wave closer to the event. Registration will open 2 hours before the event.

Temperatures

The water temperature in the sea at Brighton in July can range between 15-17°C which will add to the challenge of this event. As for the air temperature for this time of year you can expect 18-23°C. Wetsuits are optional for both the Saturday 3KM Middle Distance Challenge Swim and Sunday 1KM Short Distance Fun Swim. Wetsuits are not allowed for the Friday 10KM Olympic Endurance Swim.

Wetsuits are not allowed for the Friday 10KM Olympic Distance Sea Swim.

As for the air temperature at this time of year you can expect temperatures of between 18- 23ºC but as ever, be prepared for sunshine or showers!

Race Day Facilities

On the day there will be registration and bag drop tents. The Paddle Round the Pier Beach festival is now said to be the largest free beach festival in the world! The weekend features the very best in water, street & urban sports, live music, kids entertainment, ‘have a go’ opportunities and much more!

There is also a whole Paddle Village of exhibitions, water sport and beach lifestyle brands for you to explore après swim, which will certainly encourage you to stay all weekend and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the festival, including the world food courts, bars and music stages.

The kids are also well catered for with their own entertainment stage, exhibitions and new for this year a crèche facility (tbc). So there really is something for everyone all right on our beautiful seafront where there are many excellent shops, cafés and restaurants all along the sea front as well as much entertainment and great places to stay.

Race Entry Includes:

Race entry includes an official event swim hat, event t-shirt, a free entry into a prize draw to win a free SwimTrek swimming holiday (www.swimtrek.com).

Swimwear Rules

The races will conform to the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation.

No swimmer in a standard attempt to swim the Channel shall be permitted to use or wear any device or swimsuit that may aid his/her speed, buoyancy, heat retention or endurance (such as wetsuit, webbed gloves, paddles, fins, etc).

The swimmer is permitted to grease the body before a swim, use goggles and one hat.  Nose clips and earplugs are permitted.  Any kind of tape on the body is not permitted unless approved by the observer.

The swimmer may wear only one swimsuit in one or two pieces which shall not extend past the shoulder or below the knee.

All swimsuits shall be made from textile materials.  Caps may not be made from neoprene or any other material which offers similar heat retention properties. Silicone or latex hats are permitted.

Results from Swim Round the Pier 2011:

http://www.swimbrighton.co.uk/events/swim-round-the-pier/swim-round-the-pier---results/