Pier to Pub and Mountain to Surf called off

THE Pier to Pub swim and Mountain to Surf Run will not return in their usual formats this week, with organisers announcing both coming events had been called off and would be staged virtually “due to the developing COVID-19 situation”.

In a statement issued this afternoon (Tuesday, January 4), organisers said the town of Lorne and volunteer lifesavers were already feeling the many impacts of COVID-19.

Competitors in the two events, scheduled for Friday, January 7 and Saturday, January 8, can instead record their own times and send them in, as they did in 2021.

“With our focus on health and safety and the potential impact on our community, competitors and volunteers, we have arrived at this difficult decision out of an abundance of caution,” Powercor Pier to Pub race director John Takac said.

“Our event has a proud history of volunteerism and community support.

“With case numbers across our volunteers rising in line with the broader community, we feel we will not be able to properly support the event to maintain safe conditions for all.

“Like many other parts of Australia and the world we are seeing an increase in cases in Lorne at the moment, and this is having a significant impact on the local health system, traders and the wider community.”

Powercor general manager of corporate affairs Joanne Pafumi said it was a tough decision but an appropriate one to put health and safety first.

“We saw last year this great event can happen virtually and so encourage all entrants to stay involved.”

All entries for both events will be transferred to virtual with random prize draws.

Competitors will have until the end of January to post times.

Any refunds requested at the time of entry due to this possible change will be processed in the next two weeks.

All T-shirts will be mailed out to competitors by the end of January.

Lorne SLSC said it appreciated the support of its “many sponsors, competitors, volunteers, suppliers and supporters who we know will understand this decision”.