Registration will open at midnight, just as the ball drops on the west coast.
Visit our registration site here!
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The Course
Start: Sellwood Riverfront Park
Finish: Cathedral Park
The Portland Bridge Swim course is approximately 11 miles (17 km) with the current. Swimmers will enter the water at Sellwood Riverfront Park (SE 7th Ave & Miller St, Portland), swim South under the Sellwood Bridge, pass around the bridge pylons and swim North along the East side of the river. The course runs under all 12 of Portland’s Willamette River bridges, through downtown and beyond. Swimmers will pass under the St. John’s bridge and exit the water via the boat ramp in Cathedral Park (N Edison & Pittsburg Ave, Portland).
Safety
The nuts and bolts of our safety plan: To ensure that entrants are capable of completing the swim safely, a qualifying swim will be required upon entry. Swimmers must show that they have completed a 5000 m or 5500 yd swim within 1 hour, 40 minutes. The swim can be in a pool or still (ie. no current assist) open water. Time must be verified by an observer but it does not have to be an organized swim. The number of entrants will be capped at 100 so that organizers can safely track swimmers. The Portland Bridge Swim will be held in the Willamette River. The Swim will begin at Sellwood …
Registration
Registration for 2020 will open on January 1, 2020!
Race Date: Sunday July 12, 2020
Registration Opens: January 1st, 2020
Registration closes: either when the swim has reached capacity at 100 entries or July 5, 2020 at 4:59 PM, whichever occurs first. Additional swimmers wishing to register if capacity is reached before July 5 will be added to a waitlist. When a slot becomes available, you will be contacted prior to entry.
All swimmers must have a valid US Masters Swimming membership. One-event memberships are available for purchase.
CHANGES TO THE QUALIFYING SWIM:
For better seeding, Solo Swimmers must complete a 5000 meter/5500 yard swim in 1:40 or less within the last 18 months.
All members of a relay team must complete a 1500 meter/1650 yard qualifying swim in 35 minutes or less within the last 18 months.
These swims can be in a pool or still open water, ie. no current assist. A qualifying swim time with date and location of the swim will be required to complete registration.
For additional logistical and other information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.
