A record 62 swimmers will be taking part in the two long distance events Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club will be organising on Saturday, 20 August.

Fifty-six swimmers will be competing in the annual Gozo-Malta swim, while six swimmers will be participating in the second edition of the Malta-Gozo-Malta Swim.

A pre-event meeting for all participating swimmers and their coaches and assistants will be held today, during which the organisers will be giving details on how both races will proceed.

The 11-kilometre Malta-Gozo-Malta swim will start at 6.15am from the sandy beach at Marfa, and will take the swimmers to a turn-around point at Ras il-Qala in Gozo, and back to Marfa. The 5.5-kilometre Gozo-Malta swim will start at 8.15am from Ras il-Qala towards a finishing waypoint at Marfa.

All swimmers have met the qualifying criteria to earn a place in these events, which are being organised under the auspices of the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta. Presiding over the presentation of awards ceremony at the end of the events, will be ASA President Joe Caruana Curran, accompanied by Birkirkara St. Joseph President Ray Grech.

The race route will be closed for maritime traffic during the events. The institution which will be benefiting from funds raised during the events will be the Inspire Foundation.

PowerBar and Yellow Pages are the main sponsors of the open water swimming events organised by Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club during 2011.

The first swimmers will be expected to reach Marfa at approximately 9.15am.