When: 26th January 2019, from 7.30am
Where: Tooting Bec Lido, Tooting Bec Road, London SW16 1RU
£: Admission for spectators costs £3. Register for the charity jump (£25)
What is it?
The 8th annual UK Cold Water Swimming Championships will take place on Saturday 26th January, at Tooting Bec Lido in London.
This year’s championships will be a festival of cold water swimming, with an individual freestyle race, a traditional head up breaststroke race, the ice fly and team relays. All taking place in water as low as 1°C.
For competitors who are not quite up to a full race there is the charitable mass jump-in (and swim), in aid of Crisis. Fancy dress is, of course, encouraged for this event. The quirky highlight of the championships will be the array of creative hats on show, as competitors try to win the Best Hat of the Day award. Past winners have sported fish, seagulls, crocodiles, and even Dalek-shaped creations.
There’ll be refreshments including hot chocolate on the day, so competitors and spectators will be able to grab some warming food and drink. There’ll also be a special raffle and other entertainment.
The race categories for this year’s event include three types of individual race, head up breaststroke, ice fly, and freestyle. For the head up breaststroke the rules are simple. You must ensure that your eyes do not go below the water level at any time during the race. For this event swimmers are encouraged to wear a warm hat, or get crafty and create their own headwear, which many do! This race takes place at 12pm, and features the Best Hat of the Day competition.
The first event of the day will be the charity jump-in, which this year will be raising money for Crisis. Participants will be jumping into the pool en-masse, many in fancy dress. There will be a second charity jump-in during the afternoon.
The planned timetable for the day is as follows:
7.30am – Registration opens
9am – Opening ceremony and charity jump-in
9.10am – 90m freestyle
10.15am – 30m ice fly
10.42am – 30m freestyle
12pm – Head-up breaststroke and best hat competition
1.10pm Second charity jump-in
1.15pm – Medal ceremony
1.55pm – Team relays
3.25pm – Best hat parade
3.30pm – Award ceremony
4.15pm – Raffle draw
4.30pm – Close
More info: www.slsc.org.uk/cwsc