The Great Outdoors

The Outdoor Swimming Society continues to grow. It now has 4,275 members. Membership is free. Members receive details about upcoming events in the UK and all kinds of open water swimming tips from experienced Outdoor Swimming Society members

From Madeline Willis giving tips on training drills 1-mile swims to Anne Wardley sharing cold-water acclimatization techniques, the Outdoor Swimming Society website and newsletter has a variety of information for open water swimmers in the UK or those who are traveling there.

Cold As Ice

The Outdoor Swimming Society held its December Dip in 4°C water - see below. Later this month, there will be plenty of these types of Outdoor Swimming Society swims around the world. For a list of some of the hundreds of Polar Bear swims events around the world, click here.

Outdoor Swimming Society's December Dip

The Outdoor Swimming Society will host winter swimmers at its annual OSS December Dip on December 6th at the Parliament Hill Lido in London. Many of these winter swimmers – like other cold-water enthusiasts worldwide – claim boosted immune system and a euphoric rush.

This year, the Outdoor Swimming Society star guest is Cassandra Patten who will be talk about her training for the Olympics (Olympic 10K Marathon Swim and 800-meter freestyle) and her English Channel plans.

The £1,000,000 English Channel Goal.

A few days ago, International Swimming Hall of Fame’s 2007 Al Schoenfield Award winner Craig Lord of Swim News wrote a great story describing Cassandra Patten’s planned 2009 attempt to raise £1,000,000 for charity in an English Channel attempt.

Lord’s story is here.

Patten’s choice of charities are Children in Need, Mind and Right To Play.

Her choices of a support crew and governing body (Channel Swimming Association or Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation) have yet to be announced.

Note: Kate Rew, the founder of the Outdoor Swimming Society, is the author of Wild Swim (Guardian Books, £16.99) that contains lists of festive swims around the U.K. for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day, as well as 300 great swim spots to plan trips around.