WARM-UP OPEN WATER NEWS
BIZARRE COSTUMES RULE AT CWSC
With the music blaring, the alcohol fl owing and people wandering around in fancy dress or various states of undress, you might – on arriving at the Cold Water Swimming Championships (CWSC) at Tooting Bec on 22 January – have thought it was a party. There was defi nitely a festive
atmosphere, and clearly many people were there more for the cold water high than the accolade of a prize.
A week before the event, Susan Rentoul, who was involved in organising itsaid, “I hope the weather turns cold again – it is the cold water championships after all,” and it seems she got her wish. Race day dawned cold and blustery with showers. The air temperature hovered around 1°C, creeping up later to a sultry 4°C – as low as 3.5°C in the water.
That didn’t seem to put off the nearly 400 competitors.
THEY WERE VISIBLY SHAKING AS THEY SIPPED ON SOUP, WRAPPED IN BLANKETS
“I WAS THERE” Margy Sullivan, chief organiser for the Cold Water Swimming Championships
“The event went really, really well this year. We had more than 100 extra competitors than last time – an increase of over 25 percent – and despite the rather cold and showery weather, we still had at least 500 spectators. Not only that, everything went to plan and all the races started on time. I’m very pleased. “The feedback has been super positive as well. Already
by Monday following the championships we’d received dozens of thank you notes and emails from people saying they can’t wait until next time, so roll on 2013. “I know some people would love to swim every year, but
we’ve decided to stick to bi-annually because of the huge amount of work involved, and it’s all done by volunteers. This year we had over 120 volunteers on the day plus an additional 15-20 who worked on it for months, and they all did a fantastic job.
“The highlight of the day for me was starting the endurance event. We planned on 40 swimmers but expanded it to 48 because of demand. It was great to see the excitement on people’s faces before they set off. I was particularly impressed by Lennard Lee, a late entrant and a doctor from Malaysia, as he contested (and I think he won) every event, with his previous swim only a few moments before the endurance race.”
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From watching some of them you’d think they were enjoying a refreshing dip on a hot summer’s day. As they slipped into the water many showed only the briefest grimace before striking out for the other side. David Maxwell, who took part in the relays, said afterwards, “It wasn’t so bad. You’re not really in there long enough to get cold.” Others were heard complaining about not being able to feel their feet and some were visibly shaking as they sipped on hot soup and wrapped themselves in blankets.
Races consisted of a 30m dash across the pool in categories for age, freestyle and head-up breast stroke. Prizes were also on offer for the tough 450m endurance challenge and the craziest hats – and there were defi nitely plenty of those, including Viking helmets, dodos, sharks and a mouse chasing cheese.
The real winners of the day must be the volunteers from the South London Swimming Club for hosting such a memorable and increasingly popular event. Results at:
slsc.org.uk
Crazy hats were order of the day at Tooting Bec Lido
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