Crews had a great day at Boatstrand yesterday for the Copper Coast Champion of Champions 2015. Crews were part of the water safety team, roll on next year. Welcome to the second Copper Coast Champion of Champions swimming event. It will be held in the picturesque location of Boatstrand, on Waterford’s Copper Coast. All proceeds from the event will be for the Boatstrand Sea Safety Centre, the white building in the right of the picture and Waterford Marine Search & Rescue. The Champion of Champions format is a bit different from a normal event, in that it comprises of a series of three significant distance swims held on the same day. People enter each of the three swims, and the winner is the one with the fastest overall time. The course will be a 1 mile circuit, indicated by large 2m high yellow marker buoys in the bay. The entire course is visible from the pier. The three swims are: Swim 1: 5 miles (8Km). Starts at 9am, registration begins at 8am Swim 2: 3 miles (4.8Km). Starts at 1pm, registration begins at 12 noon Swim 3: 1 mile (1.6 Km). Starts at 3:30pm, registration begins at 2:30 pm Apart from competing in this, to even finish this event is a challenge. It’s tough enough to swim 9 miles in the day, but to have to get out, warm up and get back in and do it all again, twice more makes it especially tough. Apart from being a physical challenge, it is a significant mental challenge. I do expect some people will be unable to complete all three events. In an effort to provide a challenge to those who normally would not complete those kind of distances, we are allowing people to enter individual swims, rather than all three. We intend this to provide a challenge to those to come back next year and do a bit more. We will allow all swimmers to enter the 1 mile event. Entry to the 3 and 5 mile events will be by approval only. If you want to enter those, you will have to provide evidence of previous swims completed, i.e. distance covered, water temp, wetsuit yes / no etc. In an effort to provide a challenge to those who normally would not complete those kind of distances, we are allowing people to enter individual swims, rather than all three. We intend this to provide a challenge to those to come back next year and do a bit more. We will allow all swimmers to enter the 1 mile event. Entry to the 3 and 5 mile events will be by approval only. If you want to enter those, you will have to provide evidence of previous swims completed, i.e. distance covered, water temp, wetsuit yes / no etc. DO NOT ENTER THESE UNLESS YOU GET APPROVAL Wetsuit swimmers are welcome and who knows, you may try again next year without it ! This event is covered by Swim Ireland insurance…
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