From Malta To Gozo, Once Or Twice

Courtesy of WOWSA, Malta-Gozo.

The Malta-Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competition is one of the world’s top open water swimming competitions.

The Birkirkara St Josephs Sports Club-sponsored event is held in Malta, an archipelago situated in the Mediterranean Sea south of the coast of Sicily, Italy. The course is a channel swim between the main island Malta and its sister island Gozo that passes by the small picturesque island of Comino on the east (click on the photo on left to see the red course line).

There are two distances in the event: a one-way crossing of 5.5 km and a two-way crossing of 11 km, usually the third Saturday of August. The two-way 11 km swim starts in Marfa Bay, Malta with a turn-around buoy in Qala, Gozo and the finish in Marfa Bay. The one-way 5. km swim starts from Gozo.

The Malta-Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competition is a competitive swim that may serve to generate funds for the swimmer’s favored charity. All swimmers are escorted by safety boats. Swimming in groups up to 4 is allowed, although group swimming is not part of the competition.

The channel swim, one of the World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims, is part of the local open water swimming championship series organized by the Birkirkara St Josephs Sports Club which manages another 6 coastal swims, 5 of which are 2 km and one 4 km. These swims are held between June and August and serve as qualifiers for the local swimmers to do the channel swim. Foreigner swimmers must produce a recent medical certificate and a letter from their coach, club and national federation for them to participate.

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