Sunday, February 21st took place the 27th edition of the inescapable sporting event of each beginning of the year in New Caledonia: the BCI Anse-Vata – Duck Island Crossing.
Duck Island is an islet located about 1.5 km from the famous Anse-Vata beach in Noumea. Classified as a nature reserve, it offers a fund full of treasures. Each year, participants cross between these two emblematic places of the capital.
With nearly 700 participants and a thousand people present to encourage the swimmers, this edition broke previous records for attendance and participation. As every year, BCI employees proudly took part in the race, wearing the colors of the establishment.
BCI is indeed a major partner of this event for the 3rd consecutive year and is fully committed to ensure the success of this competition. A large-scale multi-media communication campaign was carried out around the naming of this emblematic event. This work bore its fruits since the name “Traversée BCI” is now used by the majority of Caledonians and anchors in the collective unconscious, the BCI in the associative and sporting life of the territory.
In order to allow as many people as possible to taste the pleasures of open water swimming in complete safety, the BCI Crossing has reinvented itself for this new edition and 3 complementary courses have been proposed:
- The Great Crossing: an incredible 18,000-meter course between the Amédée Lighthouse and Anse-Vata for seasoned athletes.
- The Groupama Semi-Crossing: a 1,250-meter loop between Anse-Vata and Ile aux Canards to familiarize yourself with the course without timing.
- The Small crossing: a small loop of 500 meters between Anse-Vata and Ile aux Canards mainly intended for families.
In order to preserve the setting of this event that honors the surrounding nature, the BCI Crossing is committed to using products that are more respectful of the environment. In particular, plastic bottles have been banned by the organization, replaced by reusable ecocups. Associations working to raise awareness of the need to protect the lagoon were also present to make this sporting event a fun way to get involved in safeguarding New Caledonia’s natural heritage.
BCI is proud to continue its collaboration with sports associations to promote the values of sport while getting involved in the life and protection of its territory.
