Nearly 200 people, including an Olympic qualifier and English Channel swimmers, are expected to compete in the seventh annual mile-long Wilmette Open Water Swim at Gillson Beach on June 14, according to a local parks support group.
“Our vision was for it to be one of the great swims and make it entry level, so folks both from within the community and far and wide can easily participate,” said Phil Andrew, swim director of the event.
The race, hosted by the Ouilmette Foundation, is the brainchild of Andrew and Foundation President Holly Gillson, no relation to the namesake of the popular Wilmette beach and park, Andrew said.
“Holly is a neighbor and an avid open water swimmer,” he said. “When we joined the Ouilmette Foundation, we thought it would be a great way to highlight what the foundation is doing and build community around a great resource.”
The Ouilmette Foundation was created in 1983 to raise funds for the restoration of the historic Wallace Bowl, Andrew said. That project was completed, but today the outdoor lakefront amphitheater is again in need of repair, he said.
The Wallace Bowl complex is built with flagstone, a sedimentary rock usually made of sandstone, and the seats are wooden, Andrew said. The facility, which needs tuckpointing and drainage repairs, undergoes extensive wear from sitting outside with wind and sand blowing year round, he said.
The Open Water Swim raises about $14,000 to $15,000 each year, Andrew said. The funds go toward projects like the Wilmette scholarship fund for Park District programs, Wallace Bowl and ALS, he said.
“We’re helping preserve and protect the waterfront,” Andrew said. “We work in partnership with the Park District for safety, but we design the course.”
The Park District provides lifeguards and marketing, but the foundation handles the administration and operation of the event, he said.
Park Districy spokesman JP McNamara said the district mostly provides marketing and advertising.
“Our role is really to just help them promote it,” McNamara said. “They are more of an affiliate of the park district than anything. The event itself is their own.”
The foundation, which operated for about 20 years before becoming inactive in the early 2000s, was revived in 2014 to help the park district raise money, Andrew said.
“We have assisted in applying for grants and raising funds for projects the park district is not able to implement due to funds or grant writing,” he said. “The foundation works very closely with the elected board and staff of the park district to identify participant needs we can fill.”
The Ouilmette Foundation provides everything swimmers need for the race, except swimsuits and goggles, Andrew said. The event is renowned for giving each participant a large fluffy towel affectionately dubbed the “WOW-el,” or Wilmette Open Water towel, he said.
“What’s most important to folks might be that we give them the best towel in open water swimming,” Andrew said. “Every year it’s a new color. It’s vibrant and you usually see it on the beach during the summer.”
It costs $70 to enter the race and $30 for an additional towel, according to the registration website. Check-in begins at 6:15 a.m. June 14, and spectators are welcome to attend the event. The actual race start time is 7 a.m.
The 2025 race will feature Glenn Mills, an American who was expected to win a medal in the 1980 Olympic Games until the U.S. boycotted the games, held in Moscow, Andrew said. Four or five people who have swum the English Channel are also expected to compete, he said.
“It’s kind of cool we have amazing, highly accomplished swimmers and then moms and dads and high school swimmers coming from Milwaukee and Wisconsin,” Andrew said.
Some Wilmette Open Water Swim volunteers are so inspired that they choose to compete in the race the following year, he said.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with folks,” Andrew said. “It’s such an amazing place: the water, the beach. People connect with that in their own way. It connects with people’s physical and personal well-being.”
