Organisers plan to host the second Swim Party next year, making it a yearly community event to bring sports enthusiasts together
– September 10, 2024 | Text Beatriz Maio | Photos Joe Mann Got it Shots
Dedication, effort and passion drove 70 athletes to take part in a new open-water swimming competition.
It was at Praia do Carvalho that the 10-kilometre sea race began on August 24, bringing together sports enthusiasts of nine nationalities, including German, Belarusian, Austrian, Swiss, Swedish and Finnish, as well as Portuguese from all over the country.
The route passed through Vale de Centeanes and Carvoeiro beaches and ended at Caneiros beach in Ferragudo, with the Angolan Pedro Miguel Pinotes, a Sporting Clube de Portugal swimmer, coming in first, and Miguel Arrobas, a candidate for the Portuguese Swimming Federation, finishing in second.
There were three food stations, where hydration and food products were distributed, to support the athletes.
The Swim Party was “a true celebration of unity, overcoming and love for nature”, according to organiser and founder Mariana Santos, a native of Carvoeiro and a former athlete of Portinado, the Portimão Swimming Association.
The idea came to her after taking part in UltraSwim 33.3, a similar event held in Croatia in May.
To make it inclusive and encourage camaraderie, she created two options: swim a 10km course individually or take part in a relay race. The latter, with eight teams of three competing, “fostered a spirit of unity among the participants” with different skill levels. The fastest finished the race in two and a half hours and the last in around five hours.
Mariana had the help and support of her UltraSwim 33.3 roommate and now friend Svetlana Zadedyurina. The Belarusian co-organiser, responsible for creating the website, praised “the voluntary commitment and passion of everyone involved who made the Swim Party possible”.
Swim Party 2024 was supported by Lagoa Town Council, the Maritime Police, Portimão Harbour Commander, Lagoa and Portimão Fire Brigade, Algarve Marines, Algarve Tourism Region, Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth, Precision Fuel & Hydration, Ultra-Swim 33.3, Shark Rebellion, Outdoor Swimmer, Multicrono, speaker Nuno Cadete, Rei das Praias restaurant, Herdade do Sobroso, Brotherootz, Benagil Kayaking, Eliarte, Vela Solidária and Intermarché Carvoeiro.
At the end of the race, the participants had lunch at Rei das Praias, with Alentejo wine from Herdade do Sobroso. Personalised prizes were provided by Porches Pottery, and the delicious cake specially created for the event was made by Pastelaria Delícias de Portimão, whilst ANIMAME Algarve provided accommodation for some of the swimmers.
Although the inaugural Swim Party was a one-day event, the goal is to turn it into an annual competition spanning four days, so that participants will stay in hotels across the Algarve, thus promoting sports tourism.
Whilst you wait for next year’s competition, or if you just want to swim in open water, you can ask to join the Whatsapp group ‘ÁGUAS ABERTAS’, run by Mariana Santos, and sign up to the website, which offers a newsletter with information about the 2025 event.
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