All three are approximately 500 metres in length and are equipped with stickers that indicate the distance swum from the outset.

Today, at Port d’es Torrent, the Department of Environment, Coastline and Sustainability and the Department of Sport, Youth and Transparency of the Sant Josep de Sa Talaia Town Council, inaugurated one of the three new open water swimming channels set up by the municipality. The other two are on Ses Salines beach and between the beaches of Es Pouet and S’Estanyol.

As part of their renewal of last year’s contract for signage and markers, which includes extending bathing areas of the local coastline, the Sports and Coastline departments have jointly designed a series of areas for use as a swimming channel in open waters.

The three channels are approximately 500 metres long, and the bathing area is delimited by buoys to which stickers have been affixed indicating the distance from the starting point, so that swimmers can see how far they have come. These channels will be operational until 31 October.

Gonzalo Sainz-Pardo, Sports coordinator for Sant Josep Town Council, explained how in this way they have responded to “a clear demand from local swimmers and in particular, athletes from the Triathlon Club. Here at the department of Sport we consider that aside from the other facilities we provide, we also need to make the most of our open spaces, and our beaches are ideal for swimming”.

The reasons for choosing these three locations are that “these beaches are easy to access, and they have very few currents, which are perfect conditions for swimming. Not only that, but Ses Salines is already popular with swimmers, and they know the beach really well”.

“We have a Triathlon Club with around 80 licences and numbers are growing considerably and then there are a lot of athletes who compete in other clubs in the municipality who also come here to train. In addition, these channels are open to all residents and visitors, and information panels have been installed explaining the conditions and the rules for using the channel” the coordinator added.

Meanwhile, Felicia Bocú, responsible for the Department of Environment, Coastline and Sustainability, highlighted the way in which the departments have worked jointly to “make the most of the signage and markers for our beaches, extending them in response to the requests from the Sports department”

Furthermore, Bocu expressed the Town Council’s intentions for future seasons, namely to initiate this service from the start of the season on 1 May “or even before, if circumstances permit.”