39th Annual Citizens Bank Save The Bay Swim Date Set for July 11, Registration Opens March 2

PROVIDENCE, RI – Save The Bay is pleased to announce that the 39th Annual Citizens Bank Save The Bay Swim will be held Saturday, July 11, 2015. Registration opens on Monday, March 2.

“As one of the most storied open-water swims in the United States, the Save The Bay Swim celebrates tremendous progress in cleaning up Narragansett Bay since our first official swim in 1977 and our organization’s founding in 1970,” said Save The Bay Executive Director Jonathan Stone. In the early years of The Swim, swimmers often emerged from the water with oil and tar balls on their skin and swimsuits.

“On July 11, 2015, some 500 loyal open-water swimmers from around the country will converge in Newport to support our continued efforts toward a fully swimmable, fishable and healthy Narragansett Bay,” Stone said.

Nearly 500 swimmers and 200 kayakers will enter the water on July 11 at 8:40 a.m. to make the 1.7- nautical-mile journey in open water from Naval Station Newport on Coaster’s Harbor Island across the East Passage to Jamestown’s Potter Cove. A post-Swim party and awards ceremony will be held on the lawn of the R.I. Turnpike & Bridge Authority in Jamestown.

Generously sponsored by Citizens Bank and many other local businesses, The Swim is Save The Bay’s largest annual fundraiser, providing critical support to the organization’s efforts to protect and improve Narragansett Bay and its watershed. Swimmers between the ages of 15 and 83+ will work hard to raise this year’s fundraising goal of $350,000. Proceeds support Save The Bay’s education, restoration, and environmental advocacy programs.

The Swim regularly features participants from more than 25 states, and to those swimmers, Stone advises, “Sign up early. July will be here before you know it.”

For more information about the Swim, visit www.savebay.org/theswim, or follow The Swim on Twitter:  @SaveTheBaySwim or Facebook: www.facebook.com/BaySwim

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