Outdoor and wild swimming has become much more popular over the past few years, as people look for new ways to realign their physical and mental health and connect with nature, to cope with the disruption of the pandemic.
It's an activity we’ve started sharing more about, with The Speedo Outsiders Club, supporting groups like Wonderful Wild Women in the Lake District.
There are many wonderful swim groups across the UK who make a difference throughout the year, by helping people to swim outdoors enjoyably and safely.
The buzz of meeting up with your swim community to brave a cold-water dip on the first day of a new year is needed more than ever. At Speedo we love all kinds of swimming, because it’s a joy, a right and a life skill, so we wanted to support some particular swim communities who will be out in the water this New Year’s Day.
We know it’s not for everyone - our typically British wet weather and colder temperatures mean that getting out there on one of the coldest days of the year is no mean feat, so we salute the ones who dare to dip and we love getting to know the communities who embrace the cold water.
We have chosen to support open water specialists USwim, to ensure their hundreds of New Year’s Day swimmers can enjoy the 1st January event at Salford Quays, with some extra swimwear, messages to cheer them on and the all essential coffee and cake afterwards.
We are also supporting Mental Health Swims, a social enterprise that challenges stigma through cold water and community, who are doing five New Year’s Day swims around the country. We are donating £10 to the charity for every swim (dip or even paddle) photo posted to social media with the hashtag #NewYearSwimmers.
This year Speedo Outsiders Club have taken trips to Cornwall, Hampstead Ponds and The Lake District, meeting some inspirational people and communities along the way, all with their own unique stories about what outdoor swimming means to them.
Whether you’re part of a community, swim with a friend or swim for fitness alone. Whether it’s a quick dip for pleasure or even just a 2 min cold water immersion, it’s important you do it safely, especially in the winter.
Here’s some top tips from The Wonderful Wild Women on how to do that:
1. Assess your location • Risk asses and find safe entry & exit points.2. Beware of the weather • High rainfall can impact water flow and speed as well as lower the temperature • Low lying cloud can be disorienting and wind can make everything feel much colder3. Don’t swim alone. • Join a group or take a friend along4. Be prepared • Take warm layers for after the swim and dress quickly5. Stay within your limits • Swim parallel to the shore if you are not a confident swimmer so you can get out quickly if needs be6. Don’t stay in for too long- Know your own limits • A few minutes is fine in the winter
If you want to get into outdoor swimming, follow us @speedooutsidersclub for some inspiration and visit these organisations to learn more:
www.outdoorswimmingsociety.comwww.wonderfulwildwomen.co.uk
The Best Things About Outdoor Swimming; That Aren’t the Actual Swimming
In this blog, the Wonderful Wild Women talk about their favourite parts of outdoor swimming that aren’t the swimming.
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