WELCOME ALL SWIMMERS

The 2021 two-weekend aQuellé Midmar Mile will be very different from usual, with organisers putting plenty of measures in place to ensure a safe and Covid-compliant event.

For starters, the event is taking place over two weekends – 6-7 March and 13-14 March, and second, there are no mass starts, as is usually the case.

There will instead be rolling starts, with each swimmer’s time being recorded from when they cross the start mat to when they reach the finish.

So no swimmers will congregate at the start or be in close contact with each other.

There will also be no spectators. Thanks to event partners North Safety, swimmers will be issued with a disposable mask at registration, which they will wear to the water’s edge and then dispose of before swimming. They will then be handed another mask to put on immediately on leaving the water at the finish.

For those who can’t make it to the dam, organisers have announced that a virtual version of the race has been made available, in association with sponsor 30 South.

Taking place on the 13 and 14 March, swimmers can take part anywhere in the world, and in doing so, register an official 2021 aQuellé Midmar Mile time.

This can be done in a pool, the ocean, dam or river, as long as the swim is in line with all current Covid-19 restrictions, and a full mile (1,6km) is completed. Head to www.midmarmile.co.za for all the details or see page 15 of this issue for more information on how to enter and what the different packages offer competitors.