Calpe in the swim again

CALPE’S swimming challenge round the Peñon de Ifach outcrop returns this year after 2020’s event was cancelled owing to Covid.
An estimated 1,000 people will be competing in the Volta al Penyal d’Ifac, 300 more than in 2019.
To accommodate the increased number of participants, the swim will begin on the Cantal Roig beach instead of Cala del Raco as in previous years. It will follow a 3.6-kilometre route that borders the Peñon and finishes in Playa de la Fossa.  All anti-Covid health and safety measures will be in place.
The Volta is organised by Calpe’s Real Club Nautico yacht club and AR hotels in collaboration with Calpe town hall and Aguas de Calpe.
“The competition is a spearhead to establish Calpe as a sports tourism destination, especially for yachting and swimming, thanks to its sheltered bay,” said the Club Nautico’s manager Jordi Carrasco.
“We hope to internationalise the competition so that it becomes well-known abroad,” Carrasco added. “At present most participants are Spanish, from different autonomous regions.”
Registration begins on July 20 on the www.travesiacalpe.com website and €1 from every €27 entry fee will be donated to Xaloc, a non-government organisation that is campaigning to protect seahorses.