Swimmer's Guide to the aQuellé Midmar Mile Open Water All Ages 2027

Yes. The Sunday events (5-8) are age-group and gender specific for prizegiving only, so anyone may enter them if needed, for example a parent swimming with their 13-year-old.

But you're only eligible for a position or prize in your own category if you swim the event for that category. A 32-year-old man who swims Event 5, for instance, won't be included in the Event 6 results.

Category medals are awarded only from Sunday's races. Swimmers aged 71 and over who want to be in the category medals must swim on the Sunday; Event 1 on Saturday is the one that gives 71-and-over swimmers an extra 15 minutes.

The Midmar Mile runs seeding swims before race weekend, in partnership with Swimming South Africa. The 2026/27 seeding events are Munyaka (18 October 2026), Prime View 1 (7-8 November), Baynesfield 1 (14-15 November), Prime View 2 (5-6 December), Baynesfield 2 (19-20 December), Baynesfield 3 (16-17 January 2027) and the Prime View Festival (23-24 January 2027).

Minimum ages at seeding swims (Swimming South Africa, for safety):

The Race Director may, at their discretion, allow a capable younger swimmer to enter these distances; requests go to seeding@midmarmile.com.

The 10 km, 5 km and 3 km seeding swims also have cut-off times for safety; the Water Safety Officer and Race Director decide whether a swimmer is taken out. Swimmers in those distances are lent a numbered cap that must be worn for the whole swim; in shorter seeding events you bring your own cap, as bright as possible.

On race weekend itself, every event is a full mile (about 1.6 km); there are no other distances.

From the official aQuellé Midmar Mile FAQs and event information:

• Events 2-8 have five start batches, in place for water-safety reasons, so that swimmers of similar pace start together and the field is spread evenly. Each batch has its own cap colour.
• Each batch is led into the water before its start gun, and each batch leaves 3 minutes after the one before.
• You're seeded on your entry time for that event and the total number entered in that race, so your batch can differ between events (for example blue in Event 3 but yellow in Event 5).
• For Events 5-8, seeding is done once online entries close; late entries go into one of the last two batches (green or white caps).
• You must stay in your allocated batch. You may move only to a batch behind yours, never ahead.
• In Events 7 and 8 (ages 14-30), the top 20 seeded women and men are notified personally and have a dive start from the floating platform.

A time from an official seeding swim generally puts swimmers in an orange, blue or yellow cap, but the final batch isn't known until seeding is done about a week before the race.

From the official aQuellé Midmar Mile FAQs, each swimmer's race pack contains:

• A timing chip on a Velcro strap, worn on the ankle with the number facing outwards. No timing chip at the start means no swim.
• A barcoded tag with a safety pin, pinned to the inside of your costume. It's a back-up for timing (and for finish position in Events 5-8).
• An official swim cap in the colour of your allocated start batch. The official cap must be worn; no other cap is allowed.

Yes, you may wear a wetsuit if you need one, at the Midmar Mile and at the seeding swims. But swimming in a wetsuit means you forfeit any position or prize in your age group or race category.

From the official aQuellé Midmar Mile FAQs:

• The only flotation device allowed is a safety swim buoy attached to your torso that floats behind you while you swim. You can bring your own (various brands are sold) or borrow an official event swim-safe buoy, collected as you enter the starting pens and returned shortly after the finish.
• No kick boards or any other flotation device.
• No hand paddles, fins or any other equipment, for safety reasons.

Yes. In every race-weekend event there's a cut-off at the halfway mark (800 m), timed from when the final batch of that event leaves the start:

Swimmers who haven't reached halfway by then may be taken out of the water for safety. This is at the discretion of the Water Safety Officer and their team, depending on conditions at the time. Swimmers taken out are carried by boat to Munro Bay for a medical check.

More than 120 lifeguards on boats, jet skis and rescue boards line the route, with the SA Navy, SAPS Diving Unit, NSRI, SARZA and ER24 also on the water. Swimmers with special medical needs are asked to make arrangements in advance.

Team events are on Saturday 13 February 2027:

• Every team member swims the full mile (about 1.6 km).
• The team result uses the fastest three finish times, so at least three members must finish.
• When entering, teams choose to be seeded together (same start batch and cap colour) or individually (possibly different batches).
• A team entry is not the same as a bulk entry (20 or more entries bought by one organisation), although teams can be part of one.

From the official aQuellé Midmar Mile 2027 entry information and FAQs:

• Late entries are available on race weekend for all events, while space lasts, at R600 per entry. The Race Committee may close an event early if all five start batches are full.
• No late entries on race weekend for the Comrades Biathlon, Dusi Biathlon or Ironman/Ironwoman categories in Event 1; these are pre-entry only.
• Late entries in Events 5-8 are seeded into one of the last two start batches (green or white caps).
• Entries are non-transferable and non-refundable, unless the Race Director or organising team gives special consideration. Refunds are otherwise only possible through Refund Protect insurance bought when entering.
• Anyone found swimming without having officially entered receives a lifetime ban from the event.
• Pre-entry race packs are collected only at registration on race weekend, about 1 to 1.5 hours before your start. Sunday packs aren't handed out on Saturday.