The Big Swim is a chance for all water lovers to play their part in ensuring that everyone can enjoy Aotearoa New Zealand’s waters safely and with confidence – from seasoned boaties, to kayak enthusiasts, jet skiers, paddleboarders and more.

Participants nominate the distance they think they can swim in the month of July and ask their friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them as they clock up their swimming kilometres.

The funds raised will be used to keep Kiwis safe on the water – by helping to train and equip Coastguard's 2,000+ volunteers as well as fuelling and maintaining 106 rescue vessels across 63 units nationwide.

In order to take part you sign up - either solo or with a group you'd like to participate with - and commit to swimming a certain distance while gathering donations. At certain donation milestones you'll find rewards, the key one here being at $100 you are sent The Big Swim wrist band which grants you free swimming.

They have partnered up with the following pools/facilities that will grant you free access for all of July once you have raised the $100 in donations:

Northland

Little Dippers Aquatic Centre, Kerikeri
Whangārei Aquatic Centre

Auckland

Albany Stadium Pool
AUT Millennium Pool
Birkenhead Pool and Leisure Centre
CLM The Bays, St Johns
Franklin Pool & Leisure, Pukekohe
Glenfield Pool and Leisure Centre
Lloyd Elsmore Pools and Leisure Centre, Pakuranga
Manurewa Pool and Leisure Centre
Massey Park Pool, Papakura
Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Pool and Leisure Centre, Māngere
Mount Albert Aquatics Centre
Ōtāhuhu Leisure Centre
Ōtara Pool and Leisure Centre
Papatoetoe Centennial Pools
Stanmore Bay Pool and Leisure Centre
Tepid Baths, Central Auckland
Takapuna Pool and Leisure Centre
West Wave Pool and Leisure Centre, Henderson

Waikato

Gallagher Aquatic Center, Hamilton
South Waikato Indoor Pools, Tokoroa
Thames Centennial Pool
Waterworld, Hamilton

Bay of Plenty

Whakatāne Aquatic Centre

Hawke's Bay

Wairoa Community Centre & Sport Hawkes Bay

Manawatū-Whanganui

Freyberg Community Pool, Palmerston North North
Lido Aquatic Centre, Palmerston North
Splashhurst, Ashhurst
Splash Centre, Whanganui

Wellington

Ōtaki Pool
Trust House Recreation Centre, Masterton

Tasman

Richmond Aquatic Centre

Nelson

Riverside Pool

Marlborough

Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000, Blenheim

West Coast

Westland Recreation Centre, Greymouth

Canterbury

Hanmer Springs Thermal Pool and Spa
Selwyn Aquatic Centre

Otago

Alexandra Pool
Alpine Aqualand, Queenstown
Cromwell Pool
Wanaka Recreation Centre

Southland

Southland Aquatic Centre - Splash Palace, Invercargill

(Links to each participating facility can be found here.)