Every other year, the International Winter Swimming Association holds the Winter Swimming World Championships. The event has been running since 2020 and represents cold water swimming truly on a global level. The latest event ran in early March 2026 in Oulu, Finland and included competitors from countries such as Finland, Estonia, Poland and Austria, but also India, Nigeria, Argentina and Australia. There were over 230 British swimmers taking part, the second highest contingent after the Finns. One of those British Swimmers was CSSC member Elaine Warriner, who requested funding from our Elite Sponsorship fund to help purchase an ice bath for practice and a much-needed pair of warm boots.

Elaine sent us this report but be warned! You may need a hot cup of tea while reading.

Elaine's Story

“Having enjoyed sea swimming for many years throughout all seasons, my journey into organised winter racing started during a trip to the Christmas markets in Germany a few years back. The initial idea to go and watch a local event with a friend soon transformed into entering one 25m race. That put us both on the podium – although more from a dearth of competitors than an amazingly fast swim! The adrenaline rush from that 25m swim, however, was immense and we haven’t looked back since.

In preparation for Oulu, I bought an ice bath and no doubt entertained my neighbours with my dips in the back garden at all times of the day and night. It has been a rather mild winter though, so the sea and local lakes have been warmer than usual, which wasn’t great training for the icy waters of Finland.

We arrived in a snowy Oulu late afternoon and it felt pretty cold. My anxiety worsened when I saw the pool, which had literally been cut out of the ice. Those swimming in an outside lane would have nothing but ice and dark water to one side of them. The water temperature was sub-zero degrees and the organisers worked hard to keep the pool from freezing over. That didn’t prevent us having to swim through ice though.

The start of each race is well-managed. After gathering in a warm call room indoors, you are walked out to a portacabin near the poolside along with the other swimmers in your heat. At this point, typically you just have a changing robe on over your costume plus socks and shoes. There are no wetsuits or neoprene accessories allowed. You are then called from the portacabin and walked onto poolside. After each swimmer is announced, you receive the instruction “Take off your clothes.” Seconds after putting your robe into a box or bucket, the second instruction comes to “Get in the water”. Again, you only have a few seconds to climb down a ladder into the cold water before the race starts and you have to swim as fast as you can. You aren’t allowed to tumble turn and you have to surface by 5m after each turn and not the usual 15m when in a heated pool.

My first event was 25m ice fly and I really struggled to make it to the end. I had not swum in water so cold and so dark before. I had a few hours to remotivate myself – along with a pep talk from my friend – and I was back in for my first ever 200m at such low temperatures. Once I reached 100m, I knew I could make it to the end, despite my hands letting me know that they weren’t happy. Day one was over. The following three days of racing were much more relaxed, as I knew how it would feel in the pool.

These are such friendly events, and I was often racing against the same swimmers, which can be great fun. There was also a group of Latvians who would sing and high-five you on your way out of the call room to the pool, along with lots of other support.

I would have liked some faster times, but overall, I was pleased with my results. I placed in the top 10 in my age group for all events, except breaststroke, which is definitely my worst one and was also the most competitive, with 60 other women in my age group for 25m breaststroke. I am most proud of the 200m, especially as that was the coldest day of the whole trip.

There will be other competitions though next winter to look forward to. The programme hasn't been announced yet, but I am sure there will be a weekend trip to somewhere cold overseas and a couple of cold-water events in the UK so, although the ice bath will be packed away now, it'll be back in the garden next autumn! For now, I am looking forward to some longer sea swims in warmer waters over the summer.”

Funding Opportunities

We are delighted to have played our small part in helping Elaine follow her dreams. If you have any plans to play sport, whether competing internationally, like Elaine, or simply playing for the first time, why not check out our funding opportunities to see if we can help?