Freezin’ for a reason every season

Proud stepdad Duncan Baird wonders if his daughter Grace is part mermaid, not just because of the way she glides through the water but because of her love of being in it. Here, he shares her inspiring challenge raising money for charity

Unknowingly, Grace’s training regime started in the North Sea at around three-years-old. She’d been learning to swim from 12 weeks in the warmth of a local swimming pool but her introduction to outdoor swimming began during summer holidays staying at the Covesea lighthouse cottage in Lossiemouth in the north of Scotland, a gift from her generous Gran each year. A stone’s throw away from what her little cousin called “the giant sandpit” when he experienced it for himself for the first time last year.

She was timid at first but, with the security of a mother’s hand, her smile soon grew. She would spend hours jumping the waves and using those same waves to bodyboard and, in more recent years, surfing back to shore. Surfing came so easily to her – frustratingly so as we would watch from afar, trying to get rid of another mouthful of saltwater following yet another wipeout, as she sailed upright to the shore. Another reason to suspect she is part mermaid but also possibly more to do with her core strength developed from years of gymnastics, her other passion.

Mum, Fiona, is still there as she ventures into Whiteloch, a small lochan close to our home in Newton Mearns, just south of Glasgow. But now she is a companion and vocal supporter – the comforting hand no longer required.

“It makes me feel brave”, says Grace, now aged 11, “and cold!”. She is now six months into a challenge she set herself – to swim outdoors once in every month of the year. It was outdoor swimming friend who first suggested it. Fiona laughed it off but she’s no longer laughing as she is now accompanying Grace as she completes Freezin’ for a Reason every Season.

They have been in 5ºC water in November and a positively tropical 1ºC in December. The sunset during November’s swim was an absolute triumph of nature and would have warmed the coldest of hearts, and also helped a little in warming the coldest of hands, not to mention feet, arms and legs. Those 7mm gloves and water shoes seemed like a very sound investment.

The relative comfort of the heated pools she learned to swim in seem a long way away as she wanders into the cold Scottish waters each month, starting in June this year. A little word of advice, should this story motivate you to do similar: never make plans in June, which find you still doing the same thing in bleakest December, but then where’s the challenge in that…?

Grace still loves going to our local pool – tumbling, diving, splashing, hand standing, racing and challenging herself. Creating new strokes like the octopus, (both arms and legs pushing the water towards her feet, like a star jump in the water), shows her confidence in the water and the creativity of a dyslexic’s brain. When she swims, she especially likes going with other people, something she’s tried to emulate during her challenge, inviting her friends along to share in the journey. So far, a couple have taken her up on it, maybe more will be more willing come the warmer months towards the end of her challenge.

While swimming is part of Grace’s active lifestyle, gymnastics also takes up much of her time. Whether it’s classes at a local club or perfecting her round off back handspring on the trampoline in the garden or cartwheeling around when others would opt to walk. She loves animals, devoted to her little dog, Jonah, and she is becoming a confident horse rider. When a horse is not available, she jumps on my back and orders “canter!” or “trot!” to which I duly oblige. I prefer it when we are in the water and the weight is eased.

Fiona’s passion is paddleboarding and Grace would often sit on the paddleboard as her mum paddled across the glassy waters of Loch Lomond or Loch Lubnaig, continually asking if they’d got to the point in the journey when she could jump in. The paddleboarding equivalent of “are we nearly there yet?”

While the challenge helps to grow Grace’s confidence in open water, she also wants it to benefit others, too. She has set up a Just Giving page so she can raise funds for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital, which kindly donated a couple of t-shirts. Grace has personally benefitted from the expertise and kindness of the doctors and nurses at Glasgow Children’s Hospital, as have many of her friends, so it feels like a meaningful reason to raise money.

Grace’s Swim Story may not be a new one or a world record beating attempt but it’s new for her and it’s new for us. We’ve seen a new steely determination matched with a heart of kindness. She is brave! And she will hopefully be able to take that bravery from the cold waters where she seems so at home into the rest of her life.

You can donate to Grace’s challenge: justgiving.com/page/freezinforareason