Today’s third staging of the Jamaica Inn Foundation’s Swim for the Sanctuary Open Water Championships at the Shaw Park Beach in Ocho Rios, St Ann, is expected to have the best turnout in participants since its inception in 2021.

Local and overseas swimmers as young as eight years old will participate in events such as 500m, 1K, 3K, 5K, 4x100m relay event.

Meet Director Alan Beckford says the record number of entries for today’s event is a testament to the growth of the swimming in Jamaica.

“We are estimated to have over 160 entries; we anticipated 150 so we’re really happy,” he said. “This is the largest entry ever [because] our first year had about 110. So, as you can see, we’re way over the number we had. There’s just been a lot more interest this year, preparations have been going really well and we have excellent prizes for our winners courtesy of our sponsors.

“This is the only 5K swim in Jamaica and open water is an Olympic event so this is something that we see as part of the development of open water swimming.”

Along with the swimming events, surfers and water polo competitors will have a chance to showcase their talent as there will be a paddle board race and water polo exhibition matches, which Beckford is excited about.

“Water polo has a really good entry,” he said. “They have over 25 person, so they will be fielding quite a few teams and they going to be having introductory sessions which starts from age eight all the way up to national players. This will be the second renewal of paddle board race which is part of world surfing, so this is another sport that we are giving the opportunity to develop.”

Jamaica Inn Foundation Director Kyle Mais is looking forward to a great championship.

“We have a number of companies that have come along with us again this year to make sure it’s going to be a most fantastic event,” Mais said. “It’s a really festive atmosphere with the swimmers, parents and all the supporters. The location couldn’t be better and it makes for a fantastic morning. It’s an event that we just couldn’t be more pleased to see the response.”

The first race is expected to start at 7 am.

All the proceeds of the event will go to the White River Fish Sanctuary to support their efforts in protecting and restoring the Jamaican marine environment.