NEWS

Big Chill Swim selected as IWSA World Cup event

Winter swimming championship the Big Chill Swim has been selected as one of the inaugural events of the 2015-2016 International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA) World Cup. The event, which takes place at the Low Wood Bay Marina, Windermere, Cumbria, in February, is the only championship to be selected from the UK.

The event, which was established in 2012, attracts swimmers from all over the world to compete in cold water swimming races ranging from 30 metres to the 1km endurance event.
“It is wonderful to have the Big Chill Swim put onto the international stage,” says Colin Hill of Chill Swim. “In the first year we had 250 swimmers take part and this year 800. We hope to have over 1000 entries in the events forth year in 2016.”
The event has also just been voted into the top 100 world swimming events by the World Open Water Swimming Association.
Says Hill: “This will see an increase in both participants from around the UK and overseas coming to swim in the races, where the water temp will be under 5 degrees C and no wetsuits allowed (as per the IWSA rules)!”

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I created Outdoor Swimmer in 2011 (initially as H2Open Magazine) as an outlet for my passion for swimming outdoors. I've been a swimmer and outdoor swimmer for as long as I remember. Swimming has made a huge difference to my life and I want to share its joys and benefits with as many people as possible. I am also the author of Swim Wild & Free: A Practical Guide to Swimming Outdoors 365 a Year and I provide one-to-one support to swimmers through Swim Mentoring.