TUMBLE TURN

QUEENSCLIFF local Liam Petrie-Allbutt and world championship swimmer Sam Sheppard have teamed up to breathe new life into the historic Queenscliff Blue Water Challenge open water swim.

The handover comes after the Boroughcoutas Swimming Club earlier this year decided to discontinue the challenge, which would have brought 25 years of tradition in the coastal town to an end.

However, Petrie-Allbutt and Sheppard have saved the popular swim from retirement and retained the event for the Borough of Queenscliffe and wider Bellarine community.

The event will now be called the Queenscliff 180 Swim, and will be held on the Australia Day long weekend – January 27, 2018.

Petrie-Allbutt and Sheppard chose to rebrand the swim to reference the iconic Queenscliff lifeboat shed, the Queenscliff Pier, and the white sand and clean water of Queenscliff.

The duo will amend the swimming course to be a 180-degree perimeter arc swim from the car ferry terminal beach around the pier, finishing at the Queenscliff beach car park.

This initiative will provide swim conditions that are more suitable for the whole family.

The swim will no longer be a “challenge” but an all-ages, safe swim.

Petrie-Allbutt and Sheppard will also develop a festival atmosphere in the car park area with live music, local produce market stalls, and a jumping castle for children.

The Queenscliff 180 is a privately-owned swim and will transparently donate 100 per cent of proceeds to two important and deserving community charities, organisations, or causes each year.

Parkinson’s Disease Research has been announced as the benefactor of 50 per cent of the proceeds for the 2018 event. The second benefactor is yet to be confirmed, but is likely to be Youth Homelessness in Geelong, via Barwon Health. This year will mark the 26th event, albeit in its rebranded form. For event sponsorship and/or supporter information, email [email protected].