Event location

The event headquarters are located at the Mount Main Beach.

Free with your swim entry

• Silicon swimming cap (you wear on event day)
• Branded finish line photo (digital sharing quality)
• Electronic timing device
• Sports drink, and a banana and more to refuel post event
• Trained lifeguards to watch over you while you swim and advanced medical personnel on site

Cut-off Times

For safety reasons and to ensure the day runs to schedule, our swims have a cut-off time. The times vary for each swim distance.

Around Rabbit Island 2.8km Cut-off: 1hr 45mins

Around Leisure Island 1250m Cut-off: 50mins

The Main Beach 500m Cut-off: 20mins

Banana Boat OceanKids Cut-off: 5mins - 100m / 10mins - 200m

Age limits

Around Rabbit Island 2.8km Age: 12 years and older

Around Leisure Island 1250m Age: 10 years and older

The Main Beach 500m Age: 8 years and older

Banana Boat OceanKids 100m & 200m Age: 7 – 12 year olds

Swim caps & start groups

As part of your swim pack, you will receive a silicon swim cap. Each start group has a different coloured cap. Start groups are determined by the speed group you selected in the entry form. If you have swum with us already this season please bring your cap to minimise the number of caps you collect and reduce our environmental footprint.

The start groups are calculated by our operations team and are organised by speed groups & entry numbers. These can vary from event to event, unless you are a Multi Event pass swimmer, and we are reluctant to change these as it can affect results.

Speed 1 & 2 - Fastest swimmers:
Speed 1: 1:20 - 1:30 per 100m
Speed 2 – 1:30 - 1:40 per 100m

Mid 1 & 2 – Competitive but like a little bit more space on the start line
Mid 1 - 1:40 - 1:50 per 100m
Mid 2 – 1:50 - 2:00 per 100m

Comp 1 & 2 – Out there to challenge yourself and swim with friends and family
Comp 1 - 2:00 - 2:10 per 100m
Comp 2 – 2:10 + per 100m

Prize-giving

For the 2.8km event, we will award the top 3 overall, as well as the top 3 in each age group.

For the 1.25km there will be awards for the top three placings in each age group. Please refer to the awards & information page for further detail.

There won't be awards for the 500m event.

Each swimmer in the Banana Boat OceanKids swim will receive a medal once they have crossed the finish line.

Downloadable certificate for all.

Results

Live results will be available as soon as you have crossed the finish line. If you can not see your result or think there is an error please come and see the team in registration as soon as possible and definitely BEFORE prizegiving. You can find the results here.

Post-event nutrition

Once you have crossed the finish line one of our awesome crew will be there to meet you with water and a banana.

BYO drink bottle

As part of our goal to have a greener footprint, we will no longer be offering drinking cups so please remember to bring your own drink bottle. Thanks to the awesome team at the hydration station, you can fill your bottle with water. Look out for our water station and stay hydrated!

All Banana Boat New Zealand Ocean Swim Series events are patrolled by trained lifeguards and first aid qualified personnel who are present to assist you at all times.

So that the events are safe and enjoyable for all swimmers, there are some rules for the event. Find out more here.

Car parking

There is plenty of car parking on the streets surrounding the main beach at Mount Maunganui, however these can go pretty quickly so be prepared for a short walk to get to the event site.