Festive Swim 2023

Festive Swim Challenge Info

Complete at least one 50m open water swim between 24th December 2023 and 1st January 2024 (inclusive) to earn your challenge award: a woven swim badge and certificate. Swim as much as you like over the challenge period - the further you swim, the higher in the results table you will place. You can swim in wetsuits or non-wetsuit - additional accessories such as gloves/boots etc are permitted. You can complete your swim outdoors in a lake, river, the sea or an unheated outdoor pool or lido. We ask that if your choice of venue has a current that you swim equally with and against the current for each swim.

All swimming for this Festive Swim challenge must be completed between Friday 24th December 2023 and Saturday 1st January 2024 (inclusive). So will it be a Boxing Day swim? New Year's Eve? Or even Christmas Day! The choice is yours!

Awards

For successful completion of this Festive Swim challenge you will receive a woven swim badge and A6 sized card certificate which will be sent to you by post. All awards will be sent to the address on your account within 14 days of you ending your challenge and clicking the Challenge Complete button to send your results for checking. Awards are not guaranteed - they are sent only on successful completion of the challenge and submission of your results by the deadline. Postage is free within the UK - additional postage fees are charged for sending awards outside of the UK, fees may also be charged locally for awards received outside of the UK.

Recording your results

You can use a fitness watch or tracker such as a Garmin or on a fitness app to measure the distance/time of your swim. You may also record your swim details manually; at a swim venue they will likely provide you with information such as course distance or you can estimate it using google maps. These challenges rely on honesty and we expect all entrants to be honest with their own results.

Submissions and Results

You will need to use our Festive Swim online submissions form to inform us of your session details by 5th Jan 2024. We will need the date of your swim, the distance swam and how long you swam for. You can also submit the water temperature (optional). The form can be found on the submissions page and via your account - you must be logged in to your account to submit. The results position for the challenge is determined by distance swam.

Our challenges are honesty based and require you to accurately and honestly record and submit your own results.

Deadlines

All swimming for this Festive Swim challenge must be completed between 24th December 2023 and 1st January 2024 (inclusive). All results must be submitted and challenge complete button clicked by 5th January 2024 - results submitted after this date will not be included in the results table and the awards will not be sent.

IMPORTANT - this challenge should only be attempted by those completely confident that they are fit and well enough for the challenge requirements and have suitable equipment and support. We advise you get a medical check before starting the challenge. Please ensure that you are aware of the risks and challenges of swimming in your chosen format and location and take all necessary precautions to make sure you are safe whilst doing this activity. You must observe any local, national or venue specific rules and regulations during your activity. Please ensure that you follow safe swimming practices and have a plan in place for support and safety. All swimming for this challenge is at your own risk.

Please read our Swim Safety guide for tips of how to make sure you are safe whilst swimming.

Questions?

See our FAQs on the INFO page.