Woy Woy Swim Club Ocean Swim

The Woy Woy Swim Club Ocean Swim boasts one of the more challenging distances on the ocean swim calendar, with four distances up to a 5km course on offer.

There is a 400m swim for kids, a 1km event for beginners, a 2km event, and a 5km event for people who want to test their endurance.

The swim takes place on the Central Coast's Umina Beach, sitting just on the other side of the Hawkesbury rivery and barely an hour north of Sydney.

The swim is a great way to spend a Saturday and a good chance to test yourself early on in the ocean swimming season.

The Course

Umina Beach, the venue for the Woy Woy Swim Club Ocean Swim, is a relatively protected beach.

It's positioned inside Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River estuary.

You won't find much dangerous surf here and despite the length of the course on offer, it should be a relatively straightforward swim.

Each of the courses follow a similar path; coming out either 50m or 100m into the ocean before turning and eventually following a rectangle shape.

The 5km course is similar to the 2km course, only there are two extra laps.

The two shorter swims kick off at 9am, while the 2km and 5km swims start at 9.45am.

The Prizes

The Woy Woy Swim Club Ocean Swim is one of the few swims with cash prizes available to competitors.

The first placed male and female competitors in the 5km courses will receive a $100 cash prize.

The quirky part of this event is that there is also a Mr and Ms Average Joe prize for the 2km event, with a $100 prize for the male and female who finish mid field.

There are also medals for first, second and third in each age group in each of the events.

Umina Beach

Umina Beach is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Central Coast.

If you have kids, the Ocean Beach Holiday Park offers an adventure playground to rival anywhere in Sydney.

There's two giant jumping pillows, as well as dips, climbs, and much more, all by one of the most beautiful beaches on the Central Coast.

For those more interested in something more mature, the Mt Ettalong lookout offers a spectacular view of the beach below.

If you're heading out to the Woy Woy Swim Club Ocean Swim, the Umina Beach region is definitely worth exploring.