Masters Swimming Australia’s 50x50s in 50 weeks is a way for every member to challenge themselves and join in the celebration of our 50th anniversary. It’s easy, free to participate and all our members can do it. Simply swim one continuous swim of at least 2.5km, in any stroke or combination of laps (see below) per week for as many weeks as you can throughout 2025, log your laps in the Million Metres App and you’re on your way to being recognised.

So, whether you’re swimming to keep fit, stay social or compete, the 50x50s in 50 weeks program is for you.

The weeks start on the MONDAY and finish on the SUNDAY – note aside from the first week of the year when the 1st of January is a Wednesday and the last week of the year when the last day of the year (31st December) falls on the Wednesday all the other weeks of the year are Monday to Sunday.

Printable Calendars:

   

    • MSA is offering to Members a very unique 50th Year Anniversary swimming challenge during 2025 i.e. to complete at least one base set of 50 x 50m in a single session as recorded once a week for at least 50 weeks
    • Four (4) Tiers of target and achievement will be recognised:
      1. Platinum – achieves 50+ weeks completed
      2. Gold – achieves 45-49 weeks completed
      3. Silver – achieves 40-44 weeks completed
      4. Bronze – achieves 35-39 weeks completed^
    • Further to enable flexibility and further foster enjoyment, the swim session / set format can be varied i.e. you / your group / your Coach can vary the swim set format; meaning, you don’t always need to do the 50 x 50m set format, rather, you just need to complete a total distance of 2.5km in one (1) session to qualify the swim for that week*
    • For removal of doubt, the cumulative 2.5km distance must be completed during one (1) swimming session to qualify as a swim that can be logged to the 50 x 50 x 50 program
    • The program starts Wednesday 1 January and finishes Saturday 31 December 2025
    • Aside from the first and last weeks, the weekly cycle to conduct a swim runs from Monday to Sunday
    • Swims are to be recorded in the Million Metres app [if you need to, please download it here:  https://million-metres-2024.glide.page/]
    • However, all current Million Metre app users will already be eligible to log a 50 x 50 x 50 session (i.e. you do not need to specifically re-register on the app for the 50 x 50 x 50 program)
    • The app will collate results from swims submitted
    • The app will display to users the total number of weeks successfully completed, weeks to go and tier status achieved
    • MSA will formally recognise Member completion of the program (further details to come)
    • A 2.5km distance completed via the 50 x 50 x 50 program will also tally towards the Vorgee Million Metres Awards program
    • MSA wishes you all the very best in completing this epic 50th Year / 2025 challenge in swimming, for life!

Example scenario 1:  Bruce is a Sprinter and therefore loves the concept of the 50 x 50 x 50. He swims with the Aquatic Dingoes Club program and also (strangely for a sprinter) does an extra couple of sessions a week on his own too. He usually swims 3km a session which, granted, is a lot for a sprinter, but then again, Bruce likes a challenge.  Bruce can use his Club training session towards his 50 x 50m / 2.5km total target, or alternatively, he can complete the qualifying session on his own too.

Example scenario 2: Jenny swims twice a week with the Ocean Breeze Club and tries to also squeeze in an extra swim session or two with a few mates. She usually swims 2km per session with her Club squad, and her Coach mixes up the strokes and distances. Jenny can use her Club training session towards her 2.5km target – however, for her training swim to qualify, she will need to stay in the water and swim a further 500m to reach the total required 2.5km target. Otherwise, Jenny will need to find another opportunity to swim 50 x 50m / 2.5km total in one swimming session in her own time.

Example scenario 3*: the Sea Cucumbers Coach, Mr. Hard-Taskmaster, is very tough character but also very creative too.  Although Coach views the idea of a weekly 50 x 50m session for 50 weeks as a great 2025 challenge for the Squad, he also likes a little variety to spice up a training session.  So, to mix it up a bit for a qualifying session, instead of doing the base set of 50 x 50m, to reach the 2.5km requirement, Coach put the following set of [500, 5×100, 10×50, 5×100, 20x25m] up on the chalkboard.  To confirm, the 2.5km total still counts towards the 50 x 50 x 50 MSA Members Challenge 2025 i.e. Coaches and swimmers can be creative in attaining the 2.5km total distance in one session and still attain a weekly credit.

Example scenario 4: on a bitterly cold Tuesday July early morning, Linda was only able to complete 40 x 50m / 2.0km of the 2.5km required to complete a qualifying session.  Afterwards, Linda went ahead to try and log this session, but as it was not the 2.5km minimum distance required, the swim did not qualify, and thus was rejected in the Million Metres app.  To qualify for the 50 x 50 x 50 session for that week, Linda subsequently undertook a fresh session of 50 x 50m / 2.5km total distance i.e. a qualifying swim.

Example scenario 5: in Week 24 Lars the D-Man completed his 50 x 50m / 2.5km session at a very brisk pace with grace and ease.  But Lars also knew he was going to be away from his home pool the following Week (25), so he went ahead and swam again then tried to log a second session during the Week 24 Monday – Sunday cycle period.  The was not accepted in the Million Metres app (i.e. only one session a week/cycle counts / can be logged), so Lars being the can-do swimming character that he is found a pool to swim in at his holiday destination and was able to complete a 2.5km session and log it as his Week 25 swim.

Example scenario 6^: Betty loves to swim and tries really hard to get to the pool at least once or twice a week to do a few k’s either with the Orange Roughy’s SC, with a few mates or by herself.  However, for various reasons over the course of a year (e.g. family commitments, work, sickness, injury, pool closure, holidays etc), she unfortunately doesn’t always get a swim in each week.  Still, as a 2025 New Years resolution challenge Betty was super keen to participate in the 50 x 50 x 50 as another incentive to get down to the pool for regular paddle.  By October, Betty has quite admirably logged 30 swims to date on the Million Metres app, so she still has the months of November and December to still achieve the Bronze tier of 35-39 weeks completed or perhaps even Silver.