| Demand from swimmers wanting an even greater physical challenge has forced organisers of the Point Lonsdale Rip View Swim to add a new endurance event to the program. Up to 150 competitors will line up for an inaugural 3.6km swim on Sunday January 3. Point Lonsdale Surf Life Saving Club president Matthew Ponsford said the event will run in conjunction with the famous Springs to swings swim. “The 1.4km swim will start at midday along the normal course but we are now also doing a 3.8km swim, which will start at 11am. "People have been wanting us to do this. You will find that Lorne runs a 5km swim now, Jan Juc and Anglesea run a longer swim… | it’s simply because of the demand that we are adding it,” Mr Ponsford said. “We are limiting it to 150 people this year and we’ll see how that goes.” The course will take swimmers from Santa Casa Beach and along the bight before joining up with the main swim at The Springs and continuing on to the finish line. Upwards of 1500 people are again expected to sign up for the 1.4km event – one of the four big ocean swims on the state calendar and the borough’s single biggest sporting event. Moremac – developers of Point Lonsdale’s The Point estate - have signed on as new major sponsor. |