The Be Active Busselton Jetty Swim 2011

The 2011 Busselton Jetty Swim was once again proudly sponsored by Healthway, in association with The Heart Foundation.  Celebrating the opening of the refurbished jetty with the Busselton Jetty Fiesta on the Saturday, the whole weekend saw spectators covering the foreshore with many taking part in the various activities on offer.

Both the Jetty Fiesta Committee and the Busselton Jetty Swim Committee worked well together, to put on a fantastic weekend of entertainment, highlighted by Kate Ceberano on Saturday night and Ian Moss on Sunday afternoon, with of course the fireworks along the jetty the night before.

Teams were welcomed back this year, but we decided to cap the teams of four, limiting them to 25 entries only.  This was to allow for the change over points not having the specially designed platforms in place to enable the swimmers to get on and off the jetty easily and safely.  We anticipate that this will be rectified for the 2012 swim.

It was good to see spectators line the jetty once more, adding to the atmosphere of this great event.

1346 total swimmers, including 25 teams of 4 and 121 teams of 2 were entered to swim in 2011, with around 100 people either individually or as teams, withdrawing on the day.

Conditions were very rough and challenging for all, with many commenting that it was the hardest swim around the jetty they had ever done.  Despite these trying conditions, only a handful of people pulled out voluntarily or had to be removed by the Surf Lifesavers on duty during the swim.  A few competitors were taken off course and the conditions were very trying for support paddlers, especially those who were inexperienced.  This has prompted the Committee’s decision to ban support paddlers for future events.

The Volunteer Sea Rescue Association and he Surf Lifesaving Clubs from around the region who provided assistance on the day did another fantastic job and we know that all swimmers are in safe hands, should they get into any difficulty.

With much calmer waters on request for 2012 and the swimming platforms on schedule to be finished we anticipate being able to take an unlimited amount of entries once again which should see between 1500 and 2000 people enjoying the best jetty swim in the world, either for the first time or as a repeat swimmer.

As the Busselton Jetty Swim President, I was really impressed with the gutsy effort from all the swimmers.  I did not participate in this year’s event, but swam around the jetty myself, the following week and it was still rough.  I then appreciated the effort of all who were competing on the day, as well as the water safety personnel and volunteers.  I’m sure it would have been pretty scary out there, particularly for the first-timers and the inexperienced swimmers.

This year’s event would have been extra pleasing and made the swimmers even more proud of their achievement, maybe more so than in other years, when their hand finally
touched the sand at the end of a very challenging swim.  Many conquered their own personal ‘Everest’ and I am sure they will be back again, knowing they have a new personal best, regardless of the time.  The conditions would also have been a good test for any participants in the Rottnest Channel Swim.

Having the event organized and executed successfully in trying conditions by our dedicated and thorough committee makes us realize we are up for any challenge.  Each year we have made it a policy to only take it up one level but after this years effort I am sure we jumped up a few extra rungs on the ladder and handled it well.

We know what our swimmers are capable of and many are ready for a big challenge each year.  There is no stopping us now and we will be ready for a surge in entries for 2012.  Many will be thinking that it could never be this tough two years in a row.  And once word gets out about our new mascot, everyone will come from near and far to check him (or her) out.

With the event growing each year in small increases we hope we can grow and adapt with the extra challenges for our committee and also the Surf Lifesaving Clubs who assist us.

The next event should hopefully see the jetty complete including extra platforms and landings.  This should see us being able to contribute to some improvements on the jetty and beachfront which will benefit all swimmers.

This year has seen us make some worthwhile purchases to make our job a bit easier.  These include: A trailer, sea container, racking for storage, extension ladder, trestle ladder and extra banners.

Once again we have a unique team on the committee and all work well together.