Press release: This Sunday’s BHF Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim postponed

“The British Heart Foundation (BHF) are sorry to announce that following an overnight change in the weather forecast we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone this Sunday’s Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim (12 July 2015).

“The new date will be announced next week.  After consultation with Event Water Safety who provide the lifeguard and safety cover for this event they have released the following statement.
“Ben Granata – Director at Event Water Safety, comments: “As of Friday morning the weather forecast is predicting wind speeds gusting up to 30 mph in a south westerly (cross/onshore) direction. The forecasts are also predicting a swell range of between three to five feet – which we believe could result in waves breaking along the beach in the waist to chest high range. These factors along with the forecast of rain which would cause a significant reduction in visibility for both participants and lifeguards has left us in a position where we do not feel we could guarantee the safety of participants at this weekend’s British Heart Foundation Pier to Pier swim and are therefore left with no choice but to re-schedule the event. Safety has to be our number one priority.”
“The British Heart Foundation would like to thank everyone who has signed up to the event this year and for their continued support in the fight against coronary heart disease – the UK’s single biggest killer. We hope participants will understand our reasons for this decision. We will be working to contact all registered participants over the next 24 hours to inform them of this news.
Anyone registered to take part in the event will have their registration automatically transferred to the new date so no action is required. However, if anyone would like to speak to us further about this please contact our Customer Service Centre on 0845 130 8663 or email events@bhf.org.uk“