Waterfront Rotary Club: Canal Challenge

The Waterfront Canal Challenge is Africa's only urban canal swim and swim/run event · ESSENTIAL INFO · Sat 19th October 2019 at Battery Park, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town · OPEN WATER SWIM: 1 Mile or half-mile - wetsuit or skins · SWIM/RUN 4.6km run + open water swims = 6km · Schools SWIM CHALLENGE · Schools ART FROM TRASH Competition · Entrance is free · Fine food and refreshments will be on sale · Parking in the Battery Park building, off Alfred Street · EVENTS entries are open - entries CLOSE 15 Oct 2019 at 5pm · Schools ART FROM TRASH Competition closes 20 Sept ·

Siham Boda, Michelle Weber, Ryan Stramrood, June Webber and Spiro Mitchell.

Waterfront Rotary Club is very proud to be part of this exciting event which got off to a brilliant start at the media launch on Friday, 2 August 2019.

Special thanks to our Waterfront Canal Challenge Brand Ambassadors, Ryan Stramrood and Michelle Weber and to our primary sponsor - the V&A Waterfront.

We are delighted to be sharing the weekend with the Cape Town International Boat Show - we really value their support.

This year, we are so proud to be able to present the Theo Yach memorial award. Theo was one of our event ambassadors in 2018. He tragically passed away in October last year - days after the Canal Challenge - his last 'big' swim.

Ryan Stramrood, Michelle Yach (with the brand new Theo Yach trophy), Michelle Weber and Capt Derek Pead.

WATERFRONT ROTARY'S WAR ON PLASTIC POLLUTION continues...

“Making waves” to raise awareness of the impact of plastic pollution on our oceans, the Rotary Club of Waterfront is again partnering with V&A Waterfront to host the continent's only inner city, open water, canal swim event on Saturday, 19 October 2019, to co-incide with the Cape Town International Boat Show.

This multi-event family fun day will see “waves of swimmers” take to the canal from erly morning - there is an event for ever type of swimmer - a schools swim, the Mile, a half-mile, skins and wetsuits and brand new in 2019 - a 6km Swim/Run.

The event will place strong emphasis on the importance of education and raising awareness of the state of plastic pollution in our oceans which will be driven through collaboration with the Two Oceans Aquarium.

Schools will have the opportunity to create sculptures in an “Art from Ocean trash” competition. The judging of the schools' ART FROM TRASH competition will be at 1pm.

There will be food, family fun and entertainment, that will bring life and laughter to the new Battery Park event venue.

Funds raised will benefit Rotary's local community projects.

Take a look at the brand new Battery Park Complex in the Canal District of the V&A that will host our event in October!

Read all about it on the V&A website...

OTHER ENQUIRIES
email to
Siham Boda

2018 Waterfront Canal Challenge Pictures and stories

Meet our 2019 event AMBASSADORS...

Michelle Weber is 22 years old and competed at the last Olympic Games in 2016 in the open water swimming event. She was also junior world champion in the 5km event and has been selected to represent South Africa at five FINA World Championships. She is currently the reigning South African champion for both the 5km and 10km for the last 7 years. This is the second year that Michelle has kindly donated her time and support to this event - thank you Michelle!

A dip into Ryan Stramrood’s swimming CV is impressive, and cold: he has already completed 100 Robben Island-to-mainland crossings and swam solo across the notorious English Channel. With a team of South Africans, he swam the first official “Ice Mile” in -1°C water in Antarctica, completed the world’s first swim around the southernmost tip of South America – Cape Horn – and, again with some extreme friends, was the first, South African male to swim from Europe to Africa across the Gibraltar Strait.

Waterfront Canal Challenge Launch Event - 2 Aug 2019

Michelle and Daniel Yach.

Kathryn Frew and Neil Piper from Messe Frankfurt 9The Cape Town International Boat show organisers0, Derrick Frazer from Big Bay Events and Shelley Finch from Sports Media.