Century Swim, World Ultra Marathon Swimming Championship
The Century Swim World Championships or the Century Swim World Ultra Marathon Swimming Championships is a 25-, 50-, 75- and 100-mile (160.93 km) solo and relay marathon swimming competition held in September on Castaic Lake in Southern California.
Contents
Event Name
Century Swim World Championships
Distances and Maximum Time Limits
- 100 miles (160.93 km): 72 hours
- 75 miles (120.70 km): 54 hours
- 50 miles (80.46 km): 36 hours
- 25 miles (40.23 km): 18 hours
Dates
- 10-12 September 2018
- 9-11 September 2019
Start Time
12 noon
Location
Start and finish located on-shore at the Lower Lake at Castaic Lake in Southern California. Castaic Lake is a reservoir formed by Castaic Dam on Castaic Creek, in the Sierra Pelona Mountains of northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic, about 55 minutes from the LAX International Airport.
Accommodations
Castaic Lake includes a 60-site campground that accommodates campers, trailers, RV’s and tents. However, no hookups are available. Viewing of the entire lake is easy and convenient. Local hotels are available.
Course
Rectangular 2.5-mile course with turn buoys at each turn. There are no intermediate or guide buoys.
- 100 miles requires 40 loops of course
- 75 miles requires 30 loops of course
- 50 miles requires 20 loops of course
- 25 miles requires 10 loops of course
Support Crew
Each swimmer and each relay must have two support crew members with them at all times, ideally on each side. The support crew can include pace swimmers or kayakers or paddlers or stand-up paddlers.
Solo Swimming Rules
- Marathon Swimmers Federation rules apply.
- No standing on lake bottom or getting out on shore from start to finish. If a swimmer stands on lake bottom or gets out on shore during the event, they are disqualified.
- No touching of any support crew members. Inadvertent touching or bumping is acceptable.
- No wetsuits or fins or pull buoys or hand paddles.
- No drafting of support crew or other swimmers.
- Swim caps, ear plugs, jammers, two-piece suits, and FINA-acceptable techsuits are acceptable.
- Night lights or glow sticks are required from sundown to sunset on all swimmers and support crew for safety.
- Each swimmer is responsible for their own feeding.
- Each swimmer must have a GPS unit with their support crew at all times.
- Each swimmer must select only one distance to enter and attempt on race day, but they can choose to swim a shorter distance if they wish. However, a swimmer cannot select a shorter distance (e.g., 25 miles) and continue on the course in an attempt to swim a longer distance without paying a same-day surcharge.
Relay Swimming Rules
- Standard English Channel (marathon swimming) rules apply with the exception of the one-hour rule and rotation rule. That is, relay members may swim in any order and any distance throughout the swim. They do not have to swim in the same order from start to finish and do not have to swim in one-hour legs. Relay members can swim for as short or as long as they wish.
- No standing on lake bottom except for when the relay swimmers wade out to the relay exchange area. If a relay swimmer stands on lake bottom or gets out on shore during their leg, their relay team is disqualified.
- No touching of any support crew members. Inadvertent touching or bumping is acceptable.
- No wetsuits or fins or pull buoys or hand paddles.
- No drafting of support crew or other swimmers.
- Swim caps, ear plugs, jammers, two-piece suits, and FINA-acceptable techsuits are acceptable.
- Night lights or glow sticks are required from sundown to sunset on all relay swimmers and support crew for safety.
- Each relay member is responsible for their own feeding.
- Each relay member must have a GPS unit with their support crew at all times.
- Each swimmer must select only one distance to enter and attempt on race day, but they can choose to swim a shorter distance if they wish. However, a relay team cannot select a shorter distance (e.g., 25 miles) and continue on the course in an attempt to swim a longer distance without paying a same-day surcharge.
Expected Conditions
- Water temperatures are expected to range from 72°F (22°C) to 76°F (24°C).
- Air temperatures are expected to range from 88°F (31°C) in daytime and 62°F (17°C) at night.
World Record
According to the Marathon Swimmers Federation, the current world solo distance open water swimming record is held by Sarah Thomas who swam 80.0 miles (128.7 km) in a solo non-stop crossing of Lake Powell along the Arizona-Utah border in the USA on 4-6 October 2016 that took her a total of 56 hours 5 minutes. But the Marathon Swimmers Federation has determined that this competitive swimming event is neither an official or acceptable comparison to the current world record held by Sarah Thomas.
The purpose of this event is to primarily challenge oneself to complete a 25-mile, 50-mile, 75-mile or 100-mile open water course as the open water swimming equivalent of century rides or century runs. A century ride is a bicycle ride of 100 miles (160.9 km) or more. A century run is a running competition of 100 miles (160.9 km).
Event Directors
Steven Munatones and Chris Dahowski
