A brief history about the Rottnest Channel Swim

Highly regarded worldwide and one of Western Australia’s iconic events, the Rottnest Channel Swim is a 19.7km open water swim from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island.

1956

Gerd von Dincklage became the first person to complete a recorded crossing of the Rottnest Channel from the Perth mainland to Rottnest Island.

1969

Lesley Meaney (nee Cherriman) became the next swimmer to complete a Rottnest crossing. She swam from Natural Jetty to North Mole and became the first female to complete a crossing, a feat she repeated on February 18, 1970 and again on April 4, 1971, this time from the mainland to Rottnest.

1983

19 swimmers completed 26 crossings of the Rottnest Channel with seven of these crossings starting at Rottnest.

1989

As part of the preparations for the 6th FINA World Swimming Championships in 1991, Kevin Holtom went to California and came home with the Catalina Island Channel Swim Association’s constitution which John Whitehead used as the model for the Rottnest Channel Swim Association (RCSA) constitution.

1990

The RCSA was incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation.

1991

The first Rottnest Channel Swim race was held. There were 44 entries, 16 solo swimmers and seven teams of four. Peter Galvin won the solo event in 4:30:03 and the first team over the line was Peter Blackmore, Shelley Jesney, Sue Johnson and Anthony Short.

1992

31 solo swimmers and 39 teams of four started from Cottesloe Beach. The solo race was won by 14-year-old Tamara Bruce in 4:13:58, breaking the 1991 record by 16 minutes.

1993

David O’Brien from New South Wales broke the existing record by 12 minutes with a time of 4:02:08. Duo teams were introduced and eight teams entered. The first duo to reach the island was Tom Hinds and Jason Diederich (named Peppermint Grove Jewellers).

1994

The length of the swim was increased when the finish line was moved from the Natural Jetty to the foreshore of Thomson Bay. Additionally, Barbara Pellick became the first female to complete a double-crossing of the Rottnest Channel in a time of 12:06:12.

1995

The RCSA appointed its inaugural Race Director (Kevin Holtom) and Chief Referee (Richard Verboon) to oversee the technical aspects of the event and to ensure the event’s rules were properly adhered to.

1996

Colin Barnett, Member for Cottesloe at the time and later the Premier of Western Australia, was asked to be the official starter.

1997

The skipper for Grant Robinson, 1997 solo winner, used a GPS to plot their course to Rottnest. This was one of the first times a GPS was used during the Rottnest Channel Swim race.

Swimmers at Cottesloe Beach starting line for Rottnest Channel Swim

1998

Rottnest Channel Swim became the world’s largest open water swimming event, attracting 1,150 competitors.

2000

Personalised number plates were introduced for successful solo crossings. Any new soloist qualifies for a number plate, regardless of whether their swim occurred during the official event or as an out-of-event swim.

2001

The history books were re-written when 2,022 people swam the Channel. The Channel Swim had grown so large, an event management consultant was hired to assist volunteers in running the event. Royal Life Saving WA began assisting the RCSA.

2002

An electronic timing system was introduced to improve race efficiency.

2003

160 individuals, 92 duos, 421 teams entered the swim. The conditions were the worst in the history of the swim with 12-15 knot westerly winds and early squalls. Many swimmers didn’t even start while others withdrew during the event. Only 43% of competitors who entered that year completed the event.

2005

People with disabilities were given an opportunity to enter through the allocation of five reserved team places. Rhumb line GPS coordinates were provided to all swimmers to help them take the most direct route to Rottnest.

2006

The Swim marked the 50th anniversary of the first solo crossing of the Rottnest Channel. Demanding conditions resulted in a quarter of the field retiring. The online entry process was introduced and a ballot was conducted for the 3,910 entries received.

2007

The event was cancelled due to poor weather conditions caused by cyclonic activity in the north west of Western Australia.

2009

The Virtual Rottnest Channel Swim began. This gave swimmers unable to compete in the actual swim an opportunity to replicate the race in their local pool.

2010

The Rottnest Channel Swim celebrated its 20th anniversary. For the first time, swimmers were offered the opportunity to raise funds for a charity of their choice via an online fundraising service called Everyday Hero.

2012

All finishing swimmers crossed the finish line well before the final cut-off time of 5pm – which had never happened before!

2013

Swimsuit regulations were introduced which comply with FINA’s open water swimming rules. The RCSA was successful in increasing the number of boats in the water on event day which resulted in more swimmers participating. All finishing swimmers completed the swim well before the final cut-off time and earlier than the 2012 event.

2014

The first ‘Welcome to Country’ was conducted by Ingrid Cumming at the pre-race briefing held at Challenge Stadium (now HBF Stadium) and Professor Len Collard performed a second ceremony at Cottesloe Beach on race day.

2015

The swim celebrated its 25th anniversary, with one of the highlights being the release of a commemorative book. With the event outgrowing the finish line at the Hotel Jetty, the finish was relocated to the grassed area near the Fuel Jetty, which required a 20m ramp to be built over the dunes.

2016

The inaugural Champions of the Channel event was held, with Ben Freeman as the first male solo to cross in 4:18:28 and Jaime Bowler as the first female solo in 4:42:16. The Premier of Western Australia, the Hon. Colin Barnett, celebrated his 20th year as the official starter of the race. Tandem solos (two solos sharing one boat) was introduced

2017

A first-in-first-served registration system was re-introduced after ten years of using a ballot system. Conditions were deceptive with a calm 39 degree day hiding the unusually strong north to south current

2018

2018 was an eventful year, with records broken, a boat sinking, a propeller strike, a 3.30pm finish and the event's first ever shark sighting evacuation. Favourable conditions led to records tumbling - Solomon Wright broke an 18-year male solo record by 47 seconds arriving in 3:59:28; while Heidi Gan broke the solo female record, arriving to Thomson Bay in 4:21:55. The male team record was broken by Reilly Kennedy, Callum Lauriston, Nicholas Rollo and William Rollo arriving in 3:36:36.

2019

Following on from the previous year’s shark evacuation, 2019 saw the incorporation of the first dedicated event helicopter. The measures paid off, with the helicopter crew being able to quickly and easily verify any reported sightings of aquatic life. Conditions were tougher without the famous easterlies of 2018 and Victorian open water swimmer, Sam Sheppard and local stalwart Jamie Bowler took out the Champions of the Channel titles in 4:11:22 and 4:44:41, respectively.

2020

In 2020 we welcomed aboard Naming Rights Sponsor, South32 and celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Rottnest Channel Swim Event. We also saw the largest ever field of solo swimmers, with 498 registered and 420 completing the swim.

2021

One of the most testing years ever, rough conditions and strong currents led to the partial cancellation of the event at 3:00pm. The COVID-19 pandemic border closures also restricted participation to only local swimmers.

2022

The event welcomed fundraising platform, Grassrootz, for Lavan Charity Challenge teams and all participants which saw a huge increase in money raised for charities throughout the event. The 2022 event was a prime example of the trails and triumphs that are inherent to an open water swimming event like the Rotto Swim.