See The 852 Ninepins Challenge trailer here
Doug Woodring, Class of 2020 Honor Administrator in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, never seems to lack for innovative concepts or events for his work to help improve the health of the world’s oceans.
- He was awarded the Prince’s Prize from Monaco for his work in 2018.
- He is a UN Climate Hero.
- He founded Ocean Recovery Alliance, a non-profit organization which is focused on bringing innovative solutions, technology, collaborations and policy together to impact positive improvements for the health of the ocean.
- The Clinton Global Initiative announced two of his global projects: Global Alert platform,and the Plastic Disclosure Project.
- He co-founded Project Kaisei, which focused on reducing the amount of plastics in the North Pacific Gyre.
- He founded the Plasticity Forum, a business conference on the future of plastic and where industry leaders are going with innovation, design, materials, recycling and solutions, which has been held around the world since its launch in 2012.
- He created the Water Falling and Water Rising Festivals in Cambodia, run semi-annually.
- He co-founded the new Commitments Accelerator for Plastic Pollution program in Fiji, Curacao, Seychelles, and India.
- He founded the 15 km Clean Half Extreme Marathon Swim, one of the World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims, the 15 km Cold Half Extreme Marathon Swim, the Sheko Challenge, The Five, the Cold Standard and the Kids Ocean Day in Hong Kong.
- He organized the Hong Kong / San Francisco Ocean Film Festival and The Ocean Walk.
- He coined the term YakSwimmers.
Woodring’s latest innovation is a the 8.52 km relay event called The 852 Ninepins Challenge in Hong Kong. It is part of the Ocean Recovery Alliance’s In, On and Under – Time to Give Back initiative to raise awareness and support for marine protection. The figure-8 loop course winds its way around the Ninepin Islands and is named after Hong Kong’s +852 telephone area code and its 8.52 km distance.
The relays race along a figure-eight loop around volcanic rock formations of the Ninepin Islands which sit within the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark. Each relay can consist of up to 10 open water swimmers. During the relay, 50% of the squad (up to 5 swimmers) must swim together in the water at any given time. The teams are permitted to change its members right up until race day to accommodate the short notice of its actual race date.
Spring 2027 Race
The Challenge is scheduled for Spring 2027, sometime between March and June. Because the offshore sea conditions and winds around the Ninepins are nearly always unpredictable, Woodring will confirm the exact race date no fewer than 5 days before race day.
The maximum entry limit is 16 teams on a first-come, first-served basis. Teams can reserve their spots by contacting kai@oceanrecov.org. Updates shared on the Open Water NRG and The Sheko Challenge Facebook pages.
The Ninepins Islands
The Ninepin Group (九針群島) or Kwo Chau Islands (果洲群島) is a group of 29 islands in the easternmost waters of Hong Kong.
@ 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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