Races

Canada Day Challenge

About the Race

Location: White Pine Beach, Sasamat Lake, Port Moody, BC

Distances: 1 km, 2 km, 4 km

This race is cancelled for 2020. All information below is provided for reference.

VOWSA proudly hosts the Canada Day Challenge each year at Sasamat Lake in Port Moody BC. This page goes over all the registration and race details.

Registration Deadline

This swim event has a capacity of 325 swimmers. Registration closes one full week in advance of the event date. This year registration closes on June 24, 11:55 pm PDT.

Please ensure you are registered by this deadline. At each Canada Day Challenge there are people who believe they are registered when they are not. You can check the swimmers list at the very bottom of this page, or contact us.

There’s no late registration and no registration the day of the race. This is for safety reasons and so we have enough time to coordinate with Sportstat and get ready for each swimmer at the event.

For questions about the race please contact canrace@vowsa.bc.ca

For technical problems with registration please contact president@vowsa.bc.ca

Registration Fees

Category	Early Registration (By April 15, 2020)	Regular Registration (By June 24, 2020)
Adult	$50.00	$55.00
Youth (19 and under)	$30.00	$35.00
Senior (60 and over)	$30.00	$35.00

Please note all credit card payment transactions include a 2.9% surcharge plus a fixed fee of CAD 0.30 for credit card processing.

Refund Policy

Ride the VOWSA Bus or Carpool

This is the busiest day of the year for our friends at Belcarra Regional Park and Sasamat Lake. Parking will be limited. We therefore ask that you help ensure the ongoing success of this swim event by finding alternatives to driving alone, if possible.

We rent a bus for alternative transportation to this event! It will provide round trip transportation from a location in Vancouver to White Pine Beach at Sasamat Lake. Seats are limited! Registration information to follow.

If you can offer to drive others or are willing to be driven by a new friend, please reach out. To happily co-exist with the general public wanting to use the beach on Canada Day, we have been asked to park in lots C, D, and E – see attached map: White Pine Parking Lots. Parking attendants will be on hand to direct you to the correct lots.

Race Waiver

You MUST fill in a race waiver for this event. Please download the waiver, fill it in, and bring it to the race the day of. Those under 19 years old MUST have a parent sign the form. We will have extra forms at registration.

Download Waiver

Race Schedule

Check in times

7:00 am — Check-in begins for 2 & 4 km
8:00 am — Check-in closes for 2 & 4 km
8:30 am — Check-in begins for 1 km
9:00 am — Check-in closes for 1 km

Failure to check-in during the appropriate check-in period will result in entry cancellation.

Race Start Times

8:30 am — 4 km MEN
8:35 am — 4 km WOMEN
8:45 am — 2 km MEN
8:50 am — 2 km WOMEN
9:30 am — 1 km WOMEN & MEN

Start times are approximate and may be delayed. There are no set cut-off times, however, discretionary cut-offs may be implemented by the Race Director and/or lifeguard team.

Wetsuits

Wetsuits are not mandatory for this race event, but for safety reasons you must let us know at check-in if you plan to change from wetsuit to non-wetsuit, or vice versa. If you fail to inform us of a change of wetsuit category, you will be disqualified.

The water temperature at the lake will fluctuate and can range from 17 degrees C during the early summer to 24 degrees C during the later summer months.

Don’t have a wetsuit? Talk to Team Aquatic Supplies.

Weather and Water Quality

VOWSA reserves the right to reschedule or cancel events if water conditions are unsafe. VOWSA reserves the right to refuse entry based on safety or health concerns or previous violations of official rules.