A picturesque part of Shuswap Lake will be home to an event on Sept. 7 which organizers hope will become an annual draw for athletes who like to push themselves in the water.
The Kamloops Triathlon Club is hosting the inaugural Copper Island Swim, a 2.7-kilometre open-water race running between the boat launch at Shuswap Lake Provincial Park and Copper Island. Organizers are comparing the swim to other open-water events in Kelowna and Peachland.
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For those looking to push themselves by participating in the swim, registration is open until Sept. 6, the evening before swimmers get in the lake.
Gary Moen, one of the organizers of the swim, said 21 swimmers have registered so far, but he hopes to see that number climb to 40 or 50 by race day. He added that word is still getting out to people and he would love to see more Shuswap swimmers on the start line.
“I think it’s an attractive bragging point for people to say they swam out to Copper Island and back,” Moen said
Moen noted that while the portion of the lake where the swim will be taking place will not be closed, he does not anticipate a conflict with boaters. He said volunteers will be paddling alongside the swimmers or following along in power boats in order to provide support and make the group in the water more visible.
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He added that more volunteers, both paddling alongside the swimmers and on dry land, are needed to make the inaugural event run smoothly.
Both a swimmer registration and volunteer sign-up are available at www.trytri.org/copper-island-swim.html.
@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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