Indian Navy Day Open Sea swimming competition will be held in November

MUMBAI: The Indian Navy Day Open Sea Swimming Competition-2012 is due to be held at the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), Colaba on November 17. It is a prestigious sporting event keenly awaited by long distance swimming enthusiasts who look forward to the challenge it presents that is organised and promoted by the Indian Navy.
Defence officials said that the Open Sea Swimming Competition is more than a decade old, with the first such competition being organized by the Navy in 1995.It was a modest beginning, with only three civilians participating, out of a total of forty one swimmers. However, as the years went by, the number of participants has kept increasing.
"By 1999, the enthusiasm and zeal it generated was such, that it soon found a permanent place in the Navy Day celebrations and the event metamorphosised in to an All India Open Swimming Competition. In 2000, two new categories of swimmers-namely boys and girls under sixteen years of age-were instituted," said the officials.
The race will start from the Mumbai harbor Port Hand Buoy, Prongs Reef and terminate at the landing jetty of Indian Naval Watermanship Training Center (INWTC), Colaba, covering a distance of approx 06 kilometres. The event is open to one and all, both service as well as civilian personnel above the age of 14 years.
Officials said that it will be conducted under six categories: Men (16 – 50 years), Women (16 – 50 years), Boys (14 - 16 years), Girls (14 -16 years), Veterans (> 50 years, UNISEX) and Differently Abled (>14 UNISEX). The event will be conducted in accordance with (FINA) regulations.