Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club launched this year’s edition of the Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Challenge 2009. This event will be held on Saturday, 22 August, starting at 8am from il-Blata tal-Halfa, in Qala, Gozo. For this event, Birkirkara St. Joseph has teamed up with Inspire (Eden Foundation and Razzett tal-Hbiberija) to collect funds through sponsorships in aid of the latter.

Birkirkara St Joseph Secretary General Euchar Camilleri emphasised the health and safety precautions his club will be taking during the swim. He said that the event’s regulations have been reviewed in order to make it as safe as possible for the participating swimmers. The organisers will not tolerate any breach of these regulations, with an immediate disqualification applicable to offenders.

The race route will be closed for maritime traffic during the event, and two teams of paramedics, on land and in the water, will be in attendance. All swimmers will be having an accompanying boat during the event. From il-Blata tal-Halfa in Gozo, swimmers will proceed towards Comino with Marfa as their final destination for a distance of approximately 5,500 metres.

Ms Isabelle Zarb, the Club’s Swimming Board Chairperson, explained how event applicants will be assessed before having their entry form accepted. She spoke also of her club’s success in recent years in putting up a very good Masters team, and how popular the club’s Open Water Swimming Series is getting year after year.

It was a great achievement for the club to have a considerable number of swimmers crossing the channel who have been prepared for this feat through its own training programmes.

Renato Vella ,of Inspire, thanked Birkirkara St Joseph for giving them the opportunity to raise funds through this unique event. He gave details of the expenses involved in running a charitable institution such as Inspire, and urged the channel swimmers to raise as much funds as possible through their daunting venture.

Further information on the Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Challenge is available from Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club on telephone number 0035699466256.