Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times / Sport

Swimmers limber up for Mount

By Peter White
Bay of Plenty Times·
10 Jan, 2013 11:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ocean swim

One of the highlights of the summer swim season will be held for the 30th time at Mount Maunganui on Sunday morning.

The Round the Mount 4km swim starts from Pilot Bay at 8.30am and as always has attracted swimmers of all ages and capabilities.

Wellington's Ben Campbell-MacDonald will start as hot favourite again after winning in 2009, 2011 and 2012, but there will be plenty of support for Greerton Swim club's Nathan Capp, who interrupted Campbell-MacDonald's winning streak by claiming victory in 2010.

Other local swimmers to watch are Perry Farrell and Mason Pickering, who have been among the best competing at the Team Shorebreak Inc Ocean Swim Series held off Pilot Bay.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The women's race is wide open as last year's winner Emmanuelle Bescheron from France, and the 2011 winner Rebecca Kingsford, will not be swimming. This opens up a great opportunity for Otumoetai's Jessica Miller and Sarah Mortimer from Hamilton to claim the title.

Event organiser Sheryl McLay, from Shorebreak Aquatics, says there is extra interest in this year's race as it is the 30th.

"No swimmer has done them all," she said. "I did the first one, a distant memory now, Mount Lifeguard Service president Peter Fitzsimmons has swum most years, and then there is 82-year-old Sid Salek, who has done 27, and the event's founder Richard Arnold, who I believe has done 26.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The first Round the Mount in 1983 was a 7.5km swim, which went around Rabbit Island as well as Mauao, and the 4km swim was added in 1984. The 7km was discontinued after the 1996 race.

"The event was held in Pilot Bay three times during its history in 1989, 2008 and 2009, when unsafe conditions made the swim around Mauao impossible."

McLay says tidal conditions make every year's race unique.

"The tide is a little difficult this year. We will start at the end of the incoming tide, which means swimmers will have to wait for tidal assistance around the back of the Mount until they have turned past the Tangaroa statue.

"It should make for an interesting race as tactics and thinking will come into play a bit more."

Many of the swimmers entered in the Round the Mount race will be starters in the Murray Dingle Memorial Bridge to Bridge Swim on Saturday, between the Matapihi Rail Bridge and Tauranga Harbour Bridge.

The Bridge to Bridge Swim is over 1500m and Saturday's event will take place on an incoming tide, so will start at the Harbour Bridge end at 2.15pm.

There is also a 600m swim for beginners.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Bay of Plenty Times

New home for Tauranga netball: $14m Baypark plan progresses

Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

Bay of Plenty Times

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

New home for Tauranga netball: $14m Baypark plan progresses
Bay of Plenty Times

New home for Tauranga netball: $14m Baypark plan progresses

The new facility will include a new building plus 14 asphalt and nine cushioned courts.

14 Jul 07:00 PM
Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought
Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide rugby: Whaka look to break 19-year drought

14 Jul 05:17 AM
Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes
Bay of Plenty Times

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes

14 Jul 04:28 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP