We caught up with Elite sponsorship recipient, Wendy Bates, who needed a little help with entry fees and travel to the Ice World Championships in Molveno. And most likely, some warm clothes afterwards.
How did you get into ice swimming?
I started swimming in colder water as part of my channel swim training in 2022. My friend and I then booked a Christmas trip to Germany and decided to enter a Winter Swimming event in Burghausen. We only swam 25m free, and it was scary as we had to walk through snow in our costumes, but it was an absolute blast. We haven’t looked back since.
How did you first find you had a passion for ice swimming?
I have always been a swimmer and swam competitively as a child; I took a break as I moved away for university and jobs. Open water swimming has always been a bit special to me and as I grew older and re-joined my childhood club, I started to test and push myself to see how far I could swim. After swimming a one-way Windermere in 2021, the channel was my next challenge and then ice swimming was a pleasant surprise.
What is it about ice swimming you enjoy the most?
I enjoy talking myself into it as it never looks inviting, especially when the air temp is cold and you know the water is cold. Then once the instructions of “take off your clothes” and “get into the water” are given, I just lower myself into the water and go on the gun/whistle. It is invigorating, and once the race is finished and I'm hopefully in a sauna (if there is one!) I sit there thinking – did I just do that?!
We understand you’ve been quite successful recently.
Absolutely. In the International Winter Swimming Association (IWSA) World cup Tallinn (2024) –In my age group I won 1x silver, 3x bronzes.
In the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) Great Britain Champs (2024) age group golds and other age group top 3 finishes and overall top 10 finishes. In the IISA World Champs, Molveno (2025) – age group I can 4th, 7th and 8th. In the UK Cold Water Champs, at Tooting Bec Lido – age group I got a bronze and 5th position. And in the IWSA World Cup stage, Gydnia (2025) I won 4x age group golds with an overall top 10 finish. Oh yeah and in 2024 I completed my solo English Channel swim in August.
What have you got coming up?
After a busy beginning of the year, I have nothing else planned at the moment, which is nice for a change, although I’m on the lookout for something else this year. Next year it is the IWSA World cup in Oulu, Finland so I'm hoping to go to that and if I qualify the IISA Europeans in 2026.
What’s it like competing internationally and representing your country?
I felt incredibly lucky and privileged to be part of the GB ice swimming team, although I was slightly disappointed in my swims, it was amazing to support others and witness some incredible swimmers who made it look easy.
What drives you to succeed and to keep training so hard?
The channel training kept me focused for two years, it was pushed back a couple of times due to the weather and whilst it was disappointing to not go when I expected to, I had to pick myself up and motivate myself to get up early and do extra swimming training and dry land training. Having it in the back of my mind definitely helped me to get out of bed and put extra effort in my training sets. And when I finally got the call – even though it is never certain (it is called the Dover Coaster for a reason) it was very surreal. But I swam up to Samphire Ho beach ready to swim to France knowing that I had done the training and gave myself the best possible chance. There’s obviously factors outside of your control which you have to accept but I had my mind and body in the best possible place.
How do you relax and unwind when you’re not competing or training?
Catching up with friends and family and the odd glass of wine. I have a very understanding partner and I’ve met some lovely and inspiring people in my swimming clubs who I train with and who are very supportive.
Does swimming help in your everyday life such as gaining confidence, health, wellbeing?
I think it does, it has given so much to me including dealing with grief. I have attended swimming holidays and camps on my own which is a big thing for a shy and quiet person. It has also given me confidence in the workplace, I always have time to talk about swimming.
What special training, equipment, nutrition do you need to take part?
It is the usual travel, equipment and training expenses, even the events themselves aren’t cheap. Ice swimming requires a lot of clothes for recovery as well as a barrel/plunge pod to sit in at home. Nutrition did cost more during my channel training as I had to fuel for endurance. This funding helped go towards my trip to the World Ice Champs in Molveno, swimming events are expensive to enter and there is always travel involved.
How do you use your CSSC membership?
I entered the ASA champs in Sheffield last year, again on my own and the Defra team were really welcoming and friendly.
I also used the membership to go to Dover Castle the day after my channel swim, it was great and it kept my mind off the aches and pains that I had!
Follow in Wendy’s footsteps
Open water or ice swimming can be incredibly rewarding, but also incredibly dangerous. There’re loads of advice out there about nutrition, training, equipment and safety. We always recommend seeking medical advice before giving something like this it a try. If you need any help with funding your dreams, check out our funding schemes to find the one that’s right for you.