On the second Sunday in February each year, thousands of brave swimmers will plunge into the ocean and race 3.6 kilometres around the Busselton Jetty.
The Busselton Jetty Swim started life in 1996, when two couples decided it would be a cool idea to swim around the jetty. Word spread, and 82 other swimmers joined in. The local hardware store even donated a first prize – a hammer! Now, celebrating it’s 30th anniversary more than 4,400 competitors participate, and the event is spread across two days.
Event and sponsorship coordinator Clare Anderson told us more.
“The event was the brainchild of Max Higgins and was initially arranged as an event of the Busselton Triathlon Club,” she said. “Max, his wife Jenny and their friends Richard and Leanne Ford, were on the Executive Committee from 1996 until just after the 2020 swim, which was also the event’s 25th anniversary.”
The popularity of the event has continued to grow becoming a two-day event and adding a smaller 500m swim ‘Simon’s Shortcut’ – to cater for people who might not be quite ready to swim the whole way around the Jetty.