Susaki Open Water Swimming
Have you heard of a sport called ‘open water swimming (OWS)’?
Open water swimming is a long distance swimming discipline held in large bodies of water such as oceans, rivers or lakes. It has been certified as an official Olympic sport since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and competitions are held around the world every year.
In 2014, the City of Susaki collaborated with the Kochi Swimming Federation to hold an open water swimming competition for the very first time, as a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Susaki as a municipality. The competition was held in Uranouchi Bay, an ideal swimming competition site located in a temperate inland area surrounded by mountains, which has calmer waters compared to other open water swimming sites.
This year’s competition, the Susaki OWS 2019, was the sixth edition of the competition and was held on Sunday, 20 October. This year’s competition was recognised as one of the national OWS competitions by the Japan Swimming Federation. The day of the competition had ideal weather, temperature, and water temperature, and the 1km, 3km, and 5km races were held successfully, with a combined total number of 322 domestic and international participants.
Since 2017, the Susaki OWS organising committee has been inviting athletes from around the world to compete in the competition as a part of the project to appeal to overseas athletes to set up pre-game training camps in the city ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This year, amongst the athletes from around the world, there were four athletes from Australia who participated in the competition.
Since the recent three editions of the competition had the participation of top Japanese and international athletes, the races were excellent opportunities for athletes, spectators, and members of the Susaki OWS organising committee to witness world-class swimming in their local area.
A food and game event named ‘Wanpaku’ has been held concurrently as the competition every year by locals of the Uranouchi area since the inauguration of the competition. The event attracts many visitors including people from the general public who are not spectators of the races.
Currently, many local groups are holding various events across Susaki to stimulate the city. The City of Susaki recognises Susaki OWS as the first-ever project that stimulates the community by harnessing what the water bodies in the city offer. The city endeavours to hold the sport annually by collaborating with relevant organisations and promoting the competition both domestically and internationally, in hope that eventually one day ‘open water swimming’ becomes synonymous with Susaki around the world.
Many visitors stopped by our booth to ask for recommendations for their next trip to Japan. Some also shared what they love about Japan’s beaches and how they differ from those on the Gold Coast. It was wonderful to meet so many people whose travels had deepened their appreciation for Japan’s nature, food and traditional culture.
