Masters Swimming Australia’s (MSA) 50x50x50 Members Challenge proved to be a fantastic way for members to join a weekly swim program in celebration of our 50th Anniversary year during 2025. We were thrilled to see around 650 members jump in and have a go – an outstanding result!

Building on that momentum and with a focus on encouraging maximum participation, and also deliberately enhancing flexibility, we aim to open up the fun and give even more members the chance to get involved with a masters swimming goal for 2026.

MSA is therefore excited to introduce our new initiative:

MSA ‘Target 26-26-26’ Members Swim Challenge

The concept is simple, flexible and welcoming to swimmers of all levels:

  • Swim a total of at least 2.6 km in any stroke or combination of strokes, or any combination of laps/distances (details below),
    • Within each two-week / fortnight period,
  • For a minimum of 26 completions of a 2.6km total cumulative distance  throughout 2026

… or, just for the fun and joy of it, make as many attempts as you can in ‘getting in and having a red hot go’ anyway…

Keep track your progress by logging your 2.6km total via the Vorgee Million Metres App.

Whatever your swimming goal is for 2026—fitness, social connection, health, competition, or simply enjoyment—the MSA ‘Target 26-26-26’ Members Swim Challenge is designed for you 🫵!

Two-week block timing:

Each two-week period runs Monday to Sunday, except:

  • The first period of the year, with 1st January falling on a Thursday i.e. the first slightly shortened period runs from Thursday 1st January to Sunday 11th January
  • The final period of the year, with 31st December falling on a Thursday i.e. the last slightly lengthened period runs from 14th December to Thursday 31st December

All other blocks follow the standard Monday–Sunday cycle.

Easy. Free. Fun.

It’s simple, it’s free, and it’s a great way to maintain motivation throughout the year.

MSA encourages you to get involved—and to encourage your club mates to join you.
Let’s aim to well surpass 2025’s participation and see how many members can complete the program in full!

Example scenario 1: Nate the Committed Swimmer & Prospector

Nate swims 1.5km with his Longfin Eels MSC mates early in the block. He plans to finish the rest later but ends up heading off on a spontaneous long-weekend adventure chasing a hot tip about the real location of Lasseter’s Reef.  While away, he hits the pool at Alice Springs and squeezes in 1.1 km before donning the Akubra, backpack, mining pick, sunscreen and Aeroguard. 1.5 km + 1.1 km = 2.6 km, so his fortnight counts!

Example scenario 2: Ruby the Come-and-Go Swimmer

Ruby swims with Red Morwong Masters SC whenever her roster allows. Some fortnights she has one solid session; other times she pieces together shorter swims.
In one two-week block she completes 1.0 km early on, then adds 1.6 km during a relaxing weekend dip. Together, that’s 2.6 km, meaning she can log another Target 26-26-26 block and inch closer to her 26-block goal.

Example scenario 3: Rex the Social Sprinter

Rex swims with Box Jellyfish Masters SC and still insists he’s a sprinter… even though he stops for a chat every second lap. His typical swim floats around 2.6 km when he actually gets moving. For Target 26-26-26, Rex only needs 2.6 km at some point each two-week block. One sociable session and he’s done – sorted!

Example scenario 4: Leo the Open Water Lover

Leo swims with the Half Moon Bay MSC open-water group and avoids pool tiles unless absolutely necessary.  During one two-week block he completes a relaxed 3 km coastline swim with friends. Since Target 26-26-26 only requires 2.6 km total, his ocean loop easily covers it. Sunshine and salty hair included.

Example scenario 5: Isla’s Almost-There Swim

Isla arrives early for her Whale Shark MSC session and manages 1.4 km before she has to race away. That’s not enough to log a countable total (i.e. of 2.6km). Later and inside the fortnight period, she returns for another 1.2 km, bringing her total to exactly 2.6 km.  The app accepts the tally cumulative / total km distance, and Isla checks off the Target 26-26-26 fortnight total as logged!

Example scenario 6: Tessa the Busy Bee

Tessa squeezes in swims with Southerly Buster Masters SC whenever her busy life will allow. She usually swims 1.3 km at a time in her half hour window for laps.  Across a fortnight period she manages two 1.3 km swims, adding neatly to 2.6 km – perfect for her Target 26-26-26 block.

Example scenario 7: Coach Finn’s Fun Fortnight

At Dugong Masters SC, Coach Finn gives swimmers a “choose-your-own-adventure” fortnight:

  • 1.0 km technique & skills
  • 800 m aerobic
  • 800 m recovery

Complete all three anywhere within the two-week block and you hit 2.6 km total, qualifying the fortnight with variety to spare.

Example scenario 8: Sami’s Little-Bits-Add-Up to a qualifying Target 26-26-26 block swim

Sami prefers shorter, more frequent swims, so spreads the effort across four sessions over the two-week block with the Emu Creek Echidnas MSC crew. Sami clocks 800 m in the first session, 500 m in the next, then adds another 600 m a few days later. In the final week, Sami squeezes in one more swim of 700 m.

Across the fortnight period, Sami’s total comes to 2.6 km. The app tallies the combined distance, accepts the log, and Sami ticks off another successful Target 26-26-26 block – done in the way and at a pace that it works best for Sami’s swimming!