The most historic open water swim event in Brighton.

Now in its 84th year Brighton’s Pier to Pier race is a 1K swim hosted by England’s oldest swimming club, BSC under the safety of Blue Response.

The swim starts adjacent to the infamous derelict West Pier and ends at the Iconic Palace Pier.

We welcome independent and club swimmers, swimming costume (skins) and wetsuit swimmers. Our aim is to organise a friendly, fun event, whilst providing a challenge for all swimmers.

The event is open to swimmers over the age of 18 years with a special race for 14-17 year olds, and trophies are awarded for various categories (including separate prizes for wetsuit and skins swimmers). Every swimmer will receive a medal to commemorate their swim.

The entry price includes refreshments at the end of the race, a swim hat for the race, timing chip to wear during the swim,  event insurance, full lifeguard and medical support and transportation of bags/personal effects to the race finish. Even a finishers medal!

In 1936 Brighton Municipal Council donated a trophy for an annual Pier to Pier swimming race, covering the two thirds of a mile course, open to swimmers from the UK, and to be staged by Brighton Swimming Club.

Each year, with interruptions for wartime beach closures and one or two cancellations due to rough seas, the race has been a highlight of the seafront event calendar.

Starting as a male only event, the race was opened up in the 1980s to both sexes, and the prize categories widened to include different age groups and team efforts.

Past swimmers have included an Olympic medallist, channel swimmers and top national pool swimmers.

Competitors used to dive off the West Pier to start the race, but since the West Pier closure in 1971 the race has started from the beach immediately next to the old pier.

The passing years have seen increased interest in the race, resulting in higher numbers of competitors, from all over the UK, and in recent years from overseas.

Most years have seen developments in how the race has been conducted, and this continues for 2021.

Brighton Swimming Club receives a great deal of voluntary assistance in staging the event from local clubs which specialise in sea activities.  

Brighton & Hove City Council and the Brighton Palace Pier provide much needed support in staging this iconic event and we are grateful for their continued help.

The swim has been traditionally been run as a race and this will continue, but we are also excited to be able to open it up to more non competitive swimmers this year. As a result we have added a challenger wave where the prize is focusing on the achievement of finishing the swim.