Event review: The Really Cold Swim Championships 2026

Long distance and ice swimmer Jo Jones reports on this year’s event at Rother Valley Country Park

A two-day ice swimming event at Rother Valley Country Park more than lived up to its name. If anything, it should probably have been rebranded The Really, Very Cold Swim Championships, courtesy of Storm Gorretti.

I had marvelled at the pictures and updates about temperature in pre-event comms, but it wasn’t until I arrived that I realised the scale of the ice that had been pulled out of the pool space. It crisply brought into focus the brilliant ridiculousness of the swims taking place that weekend, and the logistical masterpiece that Paul, Leon, and the Really Cold team had created to clear the ice and make the pool a safe, surreal and special place to swim.

Winter swimming always comes with weather watching, as for Ice Swimming you need sub 5 degree temperatures, so sometimes you can turn up to events and it be ‘just’ over the temperature to qualify as an ice swim – although the races still go ahead. Too warm is one thing, so when you’re chasing temperatures, it can’t really be too cold, even if it is colder than expected.

The Really Cold Swim Championship sticks to traditional swim attire, with no neoprene or insulated swimsuits. It’s a tough challenge, but it’s parameters I enjoy: setting your body against nature and seeing what it can do.

But as serious as the swimming and safety aspect is, the atmosphere wasn’t overly competitive and the main vibe was supportive and fun. I think this was best exemplified by the safety team who, alongside being incredible at looking after us swimmers in the cold, also kept morale high with their dancing around the pontoon to a playlist that I would love to track down. The weekend felt more like a party than a competition at times. Then there was the next-level commentating by Becca Harvey.

The Saturday was the ‘endurance’ day, with the 1km and 500m. I was grateful for the lane counters helping me keep track of the swim. I hope I wasn’t the only person who lost count halfway, but the counter got me back on track. Thankfully, the weather realised these distances were tough so we were treated to glorious sunshine over the frozen lake.

Longer distances had their own logistics. Each swimmer had a helper to walk them from the pool to the changing area, help them get changed, watch them through after-drop and check they were re-warming properly before they got signed off to head to the Zoky Sauna where they could finish rewarming, enjoying views of the frozen lake and watching other swimmers compete.

The Sunday ‘sprint’ schedule was packed including 200m freestyle, 50m races in each stroke, and 4x50m relays. With the busier schedule, there were quicker changeovers, a slightly more packed sauna, and lots more friendly faces showing off their skills of all strokes in the water

Some shoutouts

As a self-proclaimed swimming nerd, I love nothing more than watching fast swimming, and the final heats were just incredible to watch. The swim times and techniques were mind-blowing, even more so when you factor in 2-degree water and touch turns not tumbles!

Speed isn’t the only superpower in swimming, so I’m equally in awe of those who sign up knowing they will be in the water for a while – like half an hour for the 1km. That kind of mental resilience in icy conditions is in many ways harder than signing up knowing you’ll be out in nearly half that time.

A third set of people I marvelled at were those who listened to their body and tailored their swim accordingly, getting out when they needed to, not at the end of the race. It’s really easy to push through, feeding on adrenaline, excitement and a ‘race day’ mindset, but in the icy cold, things can turn from ‘fine’ to ‘not fine!’ very quickly, so to all those who decided that today was not their day swam as well as anyone who completed the distance in my books.

I heard in one pre-swim pep talk: “Especially in this temperature, getting in is the goal” – and I agree, anyone who gets into 1-2.5 degree water with just a swimsuit and a smile is exceptional.

All in all, The Really Cold delivered a fab weekend, some great swims of all speeds and experiences, and as a ‘welcome back to racing’ swim for me after a couple of years’ hiatus, it was exactly what I needed to remind me why I love cold water racing.

Jo Jones is a long distance and ice swimmer with nearly 20 years’ experience. She runs Joyful Swim Coaching.

Photos by Harry Harrison