Swim challenge attracts the brave
Swimmers were encouraged to practise a lot beforehand, as this race has proven to be very difficult for some, and their hard work paid off.
Numerous excited swimmers were greeted by calm weather at Longmere Recreational Club on Saturday – the perfect conditions to contest the very first leg of the Funky Pants Open Water Swim Challenge series in the Lowveld.
This race, which was divided into three age groups, was made possible by Uniswim and the Lowveld Canoe Club. The bright colours of Funky Pants, which initially started in KwaZulu-Natal, is slowly becoming a big trend in the region.
The first leg was divided into two distances – 1 500m for the more serious participants and a 400m swim just for fun. Instead of receiving medals for each race, all swimmers got a swimming cap, which also served as a form of identification in the water.
They were encouraged to practise a lot beforehand, as the this race has proven to be very difficult for some, and their hard work paid off. This also provides the perfect opportunity to practise in open water, which serves them well in big events like the Midmar Mile or Ironman. The school with the most participants was Penryn College, and swimmers took the opportunity to train for the Midmar Mile in 2015. According to Allison Williams, organiser of this one-of-a-kind event in the Lowveld, Longmere is one of the best places to practise for open water events. The youngest participants of the day were Michaela Goelst and Thomas Williams, both Penryn Prep learners who completed the 400m fun swim.
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