Sunshine Coast Winter Solstice Swim

PICTURED: Held each year on the nearest Sunday to the winter solstice in June, participation in the Solstice Swim has continued to grow since the first swim in 2016. It is now the main fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Alexandra Headland.

Held each year in June, the Sunshine Coast Solstice Swim is more than just a winter ocean challenge – it’s a powerful showcase of Rotary’s positive impact. Drawing swimmers, supporters and sponsors together, the event raises vital funds for local causes while significantly enhancing Rotary’s public image across the community.

“Kids should not be going to school hungry.”

These words motivated the Rotary Club of Alexandra Headland, Qld, to nominate Inclusive Kids as a primary beneficiary for its 2024 Solstice Swim event.

Held each year on the nearest Sunday to the winter solstice in June, participation in the Solstice Swim has continued to grow since the first swim in 2016. It is now the main fundraiser for the club.

The Sunshine Coast Solstice Swim is a safe and healthy ocean swim that brings the community together to do something fun and challenging, while creating a win-win for local charitable causes and our club,” says Rotary Club of Alexandra Headland Public Image Director Monique Kelsey.

In past years, proceeds from the Solstice Swim have directly supported vulnerable people on the Sunshine Coast, including disadvantaged youth, drought relief, prevention of domestic violence, young veterans, and the local helicopter rescue service.

Through the club’s network of business and community contacts, support for the event is growing steadily and it receives consistent cross-promotion through social media, local radio, television stations and print media.

The event also receives strong support through the club’s community connections, including the Alexandra Headland Surf Life Saving Club volunteers, who chaperone the swimmers through their ocean distances.

Mooloolaba Yacht Club provides oversized buoys for swim safety, local schools help with registration duties, and past students the club has sponsored for National Youth Science Forum and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards join in with swim preparations.

The Rotary brand is a very powerful endorsement,” says Monique. “Businesses and individuals are encouraged to get behind the event and we have had some amazing financial and ‘in kind’ sponsors who give generously to the Rotary causes we support.

Immediate Past Club President Tony Freeman says it has also brought new members to the club.

“So much so that last year the Rotary Club of Alexandra Headland was awarded the Glen Kinross Membership Trophy for membership growth,” says Tony.

With the cost-of-living crisis on everyones’ minds, in 2024 the club looked for a local cause that needed a helping hand, was aligned with Rotary values,
and that club members were enthusiastic about supporting.

“When founder of Inclusive Kids and the Fuel for School program, Paul Morton, visited our club to speak about the work his organisation was doing to support disadvantaged children in our community, we knew we had found a worthy beneficiary for our 2024 swim,” says Monique.
The Fuel for School program supplies free nutritious snacks to local schools for children who often don’t have breakfast or a lunchbox meal when they come to school.

PICTURED: Rotary Club of Alexandra Headland then President-elect Geoff East was interviewed by Channel 7 Sunshine Coast News about the 2024 Sunshine Coast Solstice Swim.

The club set a fundraising target of $40,000, which would enable the construction and fit out of a new kitchen for the Fuel for School program.

The swim was a resounding success, with a record number of nearly 300 swimmers participating. In addition to the swimmers, approximately 1,000 spectators supported participants on a glorious Sunday morning at Alexandra Headland beach.

In the end, the 2024 swim raised $50,000, enabling the club to support the Inclusive Kids project, with remaining profits donated to other Rotary charitable causes in the local community.

The 2025 Solstice Swim on Sunday, June 22, will add a 500-metre swim category to enable younger swimmers to participate, as well as keeping the 1km, 3km and 5km distances. It will also utilise a more sophisticated online registration process and timing systems.

This year’s swim will support mental health, food security/cost-of-living, prevention of domestic violence and homelessness.

Anyone up for a healthy mid-winter ocean swim, when the weather is guaranteed to be mild and the water temperature perfect, visit www.alexrotary.com.au for details.