Across the Lake Swim Kelowna, live.

Canada's longest running open-water swim

The Across the Lake Swim Kelowna crosses Okanagan Lake from the old ferry docks in Westbank to Hot Sands Beach in Kelowna's City Park.

The 2027 swim is on Saturday 17 July. The organisers describe it as the largest and longest continuously running open-water swim in Canada. It began in 1949 and is the last event left from the early Kelowna Regatta, and the Kelowna Masters Swim Club took over its running from the City of Kelowna in 1986. A field of about 200 has grown to more than 1,200 swimmers.

Two point-to-point distances cross the lake. The 2.1 km starts near the Old Ferry Docks at the bottom of Old Ferry Wharf Road in Westbank, West Kelowna, and finishes at Hot Sands Beach. The 1.5 km also crosses Okanagan Lake, starting near the 2.1 km start. Average water temperature is around 23 degrees.

Age group swimmers self-start when ready, with their time beginning as they cross the timing mat, while the competitive group has a mass start. Every swimmer wears an ankle timing chip. Buses from City Park to the start are included in the entry, as there is no parking at the start, and a gear check opens early in the morning. Support paddlers are not required.

The swim suits everyone from first-timers to fast age group swimmers, and there is no registration on the day. The finish at Hot Sands Beach in City Park is the natural place for friends and family to wait. The same organisers run a series of lake swims across British Columbia through the summer.

On Livebib you can follow a swimmer live if they choose to share their own position from the phone they carry, for example sealed in a tow float. That position comes from the swimmer, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results are published by the organiser.