Second long swim on tomorrow

Hinemoa-Tutanekai 2km non-wetsuit race winner David Boles will tackle the 3km swim at the Lake Rotoma Kiwanis Swim today.

Swim Rotorua could be celebrating success for the second long weekend in a row at today's Lake Rotoma Kiwanis Swim.

The open water swim is the second in the four-round Swim the Lake series, the first being the Hinemoa Swim at Tikitapu (Blue Lake) last weekend.

John Paul College students Milla Theobold, 13, and David Boles, 16, were the first female and male to finish the Hinemoa-Tutanekai 2km non-wetsuit race in the first event of the series.

Today's swim offers a variety of distances, with Boles opting for the 3km swim and Emily Spears, who was second in the Hinemoa swim, to take on the 6km distance. While Theobold is not a confirmed starter today, Annelyse Cowie, who was third in the Hinemoa Swim is, as is Jack Weston who swam the Hinemoa in a wetsuit. All swim for Swim Rotorua.

''Open water is just so good for the kids who continually swim up and down the pool," said Swim Rotorua assistant coach Bronwen Radford.

''It breaks up the training for them and just helps them re-energise a little bit and do something a little bit different.

''Distance is always great for swimming and what we really like about it is it's a great family event - we often have kids swimming and the parents are swimming too."

Annelyse Cowie's two brothers Damon and Harrison are both due to swim today and Boles father David senior and younger brother Joe are also swimming.

''Emily's dad David is also doing it."

The Lake Rotoma Swim has been run annually on Waitangi Day since 1979 with 20 events open to all ages and abilities with events ranging in distance.

The triangular course is the only buoyed barrage swim course in the world with a 1500m rope suspended below the lake surface by orange buoys and droppers every 10m.

Larger buoys mark the corners and finish line. First place in each race receives a medal,
with both wetsuit and non-wetsuit class categories.

The first race starts at 9am with the final race due to begin at 1.30pm.

For the third race in the series it will be back to Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) for the Legend of the Lake swim on February 18.