In 2023, Swim the Gold Coast will offer both 10km and 21km distances.
The 21km course spans the length of the Gold Coast, from the stunning beaches of the Southern Gold Coast, to the towering cityscape of Surfers Paradise.
The course follows the famous Gold Coast coastline from start to finish, so there are plenty of landmarks to track your progress as you swim.
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The new 10km events starts at Burleigh Heads, adjacent to Justins Park, then finishes in the same location as the 21km event, at Surfers Paradise.
From Burleigh, the course follows the coastline (approx 300m offshore) on to Broadbeach – this is where the backdrop changes, dramatically. The rolling coastline starts to climb up to the sky and this is the view with every breath until the finish at Surfers Paradise.
The Finish Lane is a straight line onto shore (approx 300m long) and starts just beyond the unmistakable Q1 building. This start of the Finish Lane is where your Support Paddler departs the course for shore and our Surf Life Saving teams will take over.
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From Kirra Beach, you’ll follow a Start Lane offshore for approx 400m. At the end of this lane, the ‘Pairing Zone’ begins where you will meet your Support Boats and paddlers.
Beyond Kirra, the distinctive Elephant Rock and Currumbin Alley are your next landmarks – this is Checkpoint #1 (7km).
Burleigh Headland is your next major landmark and Checkpoint #2, this is the 11km mark and just over halfway. Here the course takes a slight dog-leg turn and stays parallel with the coastline on to Broadbeach (Checkpoint #3).
The Finish Lane is a straight line onto shore (approx 400m long) and starts just beyond the unmistakable Q1 building. This start of the Finish Lane is where your Support Boats depart the course and Surf Life Saving teams will patrol.
We encourage all team swimmers to swim the final 400m leg and cross the line together.
Below is a digital flyover, taking you from start to finish.
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The Checkpoints below have cut-off times which all swimmers must reach, both Solo & Team swimmers.
Final course coordinates will be provided in our Event Handbook for all skippers to follow.
A ‘Lead Vessel’ will also direct Support Boats for the entire distance to the Surfers Paradise Finish Lane.
| Checkpoint | Distance | Time Restriction | |
| Currumbin | 7km | 10:30am | |
| Burleigh Headland | 11km | 12:30pm | |
| Broadbeach | 18km | 3:00pm | |
| Surfers Paradise (Finish Lane) | 21km | 4:00pm | |
The Course has three checkpoints, each checkpoint is marked with 2x Waypoints that form a Gate. Every swimmer and support boat must pass through every Checkpoint Gate.
EVERY SKIPPER needs to have a GPS device and pre-load these coordinates.
| Checkpoint Location | Inner Waypoint | Outer Waypoint |
| Currumbin Gateway | -28.1237, 153.49062 | -28.12313, 153.49149 |
| Burleigh Headland Gateway | -28.08677, 153.46132 | -28.08623, 153.46216 |
| Broadbeach Gateway | -28.03004, 153.4419 | -28.02986, 153.44296 |
