Channel Swim Gold 2024 (UK-FRANCE-UK)

Virtual Channel Swim Challenge (Gold: UK-France-UK) Info

Complete 42 miles (68km) of swimming between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 - this is the distance of swimming the English Channel from the UK to France and back again. The faster you complete your distance, the higher your position in the results table!

The distance can be completed in any number of sessions between the official challenge dates. You can swim in a pool or in open water, indoors or outdoors, wetsuits or non-wetsuit - additional accessories such as gloves/boots etc are permitted. Wherever you love to swim!

Awards

For successful completion of this Channel Swim challenge you will receive a woven swim badge and a postcard sized completion certificate which will be sent to you by post (postage is free within the UK).

Awards will be sent out within 14 days of you completing your challenge and submitting your final results. Please Note: Awards are not guaranteed - they are sent only on successful completion of the challenge and submission of your results by the deadline.

Recording your results

You must keep a record of all your swim details throughout the challenge period. You can submit on our website after each swim and you will see a list of all your submissions and your current position in the results table. Record the date, swim distance and swim time in hh:mm:ss of each swim.

You can use a fitness watch or tracker such as a Garmin or on a fitness app to measure the distance/time of your swim. You may also record your swim details manually; at a swim venue they will likely provide you with information such as course/lane distance or you can estimate it using google maps for outdoor venues. These challenges rely on honesty and we expect all entrants to be honest with their own results.

If you join a challenge after the start date, you can submit swims that you completed before you entered if they were completed after the challenge start date and met the conditions/rules of the challenge.

Submissions, Results and Receiving Awards.

You will need to use our online submissions form to inform us of your session details by 7th April 2025. The form link can be found on the submissions page or on your My Account page (you will only see the submission options if you are logged into your account and have purchased the challenge). Submissions and deadlines are your responsibility. We suggest you add the deadlines for this challenge to your calendar.

You should submit results for each swim session you complete for this challenge. You can do this after each session, in batches (eg once per week/month).

The results table will be on the submissions page. The results position for the challenge is determined by time. All results are provisional until after the submissions deadline. If you do not complete the challenge distance and submit before the deadline you will not be eligible for your awards and they will not be sent.

Once you complete your 42 mile distance you cannot submit any more swims.

When you complete your challenge and want your awards to be sent to you, you will need to click the 'Challenge Complete' button after your final submission to send them for checking and approval. Your results will be checked and, if approved, your awards will be sent within 14 days. If there are any queries with your results eg duplications etc, we will email you to the email address registered on your account. 

Our challenges are honesty based and require you to accurately and honestly record and submit your own results.

Deadlines

All swimming for this Channel Swim challenge must be completed between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 (inclusive). All results must be submitted online by 7th April 2025 - results submitted after this date will not be included in the results table and the awards will not be sent.

Other Challenges

If you enter other Challenge Co. swim challenges you are permitted to submit your swim details for more than one challenge (so long as the conditions for each of the challenges are met). Eg if you chose to do both the Channel Swim Silver and Channel swim Gold challenges - you can chose whether to submit your first 21 miles for both challenges or whether to start again from 0 for the Gold UK-FRANCE-UK Challenge.

If you join a challenge after the start date, you can submit swims that you completed before you entered if they were completed after the challenge start date and met the conditions/rules of the challenge.

#virtualchannelswimchallenge

IMPORTANT - this challenge should only be attempted by those completely confident that they are fit and well enough for the challenge requirements and have suitable equipment and support. We advise you get a medical check before starting the challenge. Please ensure that you are aware of the risks and challenges of swimming in your chosen format and location and take all necessary precautions to make sure you are safe whilst doing this activity. You must observe any local, national or venue specific rules and regulations during your activity. Please ensure that you follow safe swimming practices and have a plan in place for support and safety. All swimming for this challenge is at your own risk.

Please read our Swim Safety guide for tips of how to make sure you are safe whilst cycling.

Questions?

See our FAQs on the INFO page.