Hopes still alive for a 2021 San Remo Channel Challenge

The organizing committee for the San Remo Channel Challenge is hard at work trying to put together a Covid-Safe Event Plan so the event can go ahead in 2021.

Possible dates for the event are Saturday, February 13 or Saturday, February 27.

The plan needs to satisfy the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Life Saving Victoria (LSV) so that they will issue permits to allow the 36th Channel Challenge in February.

Without these permits there is no chance of the event being insured or proceeding.

A team of Woolamai Surf Life Saving Club members assisted by Bass Coast Shire Council and San Remo SES as well as Graeme Burgan from the Phillip Island Nature Parks is currently working on the plan.

The plan needs to satisfy all COVID-19 safety protocols as well as enabling the event to retain most of its normal characteristics.

Some of the hurdles the committee faces include changing to online registration only, with registrations closing a few days prior to the event.

Numbers for the popular event will need to be capped as each wave of competitors is limited to 100. There will also be a limit to how many waves of competitors can be sent off in the time available between the change of tides.

The potential cap means the order of registration will determine who is able to race – it will be “first in, best dressed”.

Any Covid-Safe plan would also need to include an outdoor Race Centre (the current indoor area is too small for social distancing) and temperature checks.

Juggling the starting area at the beach and the marshalling area to comply with the two square metre social distancing rule is also a challenge for the committee, with competitors potentially having to line up and move forward from the car park behind the beach.

Volunteers working on the event will need to be provided with PPE. Spectators will also need to comply with social distancing requirements.

Committee member Ron Nicholson said the organisers would give it their best shot.

“We hope to see the unique challenges posted for this coming summer overcome, and the iconic San Remo event continue in its unique manner,” he said.

It’s hoped an announcement will be made within a week.

“Registrations will be opened up and taken with the final date decided.

“We know that there are several hundred Channel Challengers waiting out there for the green light to once again see if they will ‘carve success or record disaster’ at San Remo,” he said, quoting a line from Adam Lindsay Gordon’s poem, “The Swimmer”.

Penguin Dash on hold

Unfortunately for younger competitors, the Little Penguin Dash will not run in 2021.

“It is with regret that the organizers have decided to put the Little Penguin Dash into mothballs for this summer and hopefully we will see all of our prospective young Challengers back in 2022,” Ron said.

The San Remo Channel Challenge is a major fundraiser for the Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club (WBSLSC).

The extra work required to ensure the Challenge can go ahead comes onto top of hundreds of volunteer man hours already spent fulfilling the requirements needed for the 2021 Nippers program to proceed with restrictions as well as the usual Volunteer Lifesaving and LifeGuard Services at Woolamai and Smiths Beach for the next summer.

“Heavy restrictions have been placed on the accommodation facilities and social activities at the WBSLSC to ensure the safety and continuation of those vital community services being operational for the summer holiday period,” Ron said.

Click here to subscribe to your local newspaper online.