Formed by Marty and Liz Godwin, the cold water swimming group have been braving the Caroline Bay winter water on-and-off for the last four years.
A new concerted effort this year has seen Mr Godwin and fellow group members Gillian Catchpowle and Helen Bolton sign up to compete in the International Ice Swimming Association’s NZ and southern hemisphere Pool Championships in Alexandra next month.
The three swimmers are set to race in various different distances in the Alexandra Pool at a temperature of just 5°C.
Mr Godwin said he first heard about the benefits of cold water swimming from a television programme.
"I saw a programme about a doctor without medicines and he was treating a girl with depression.
"They were using cold water treatments, so that’s where I first heard about it and then from there just after Covid I thought I’d give it a go."
A keen open water swimmer, he was not as willing to pack up and head indoors when the temperature dropped, he said.
"They’d all headed inside but there were two of us who just wanted to keep on swimming.
"Raewyn stopped after the first week because it was like six degrees and there was frost on the sand but I just love it."
"There’s a TED Talk I really like that basically says if you think you’re going to go through life without anything unpleasant happening to you, it’s not going to happen.
"So having a cold shower or going into the cold water, you’re training your brain to deal with unpleasant things."
Mrs Catchpowle said she was very much looking forward to the competition.
"I’m Scottish, so that’s warm to me.
"It’s Liz and Marty’s fault for dragging me down here every week but I just love it so I’m looking forward to July.
"You’ve got to have your hat checked and a medical all done and signed off otherwise they won’t allow you to enter."
The three had never entered the competition before but were looking forward to giving it a crack, Mr Godwin said.
The group spend between 10 and 15 minutes in the water and are currently meeting on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings for their swims.
At their most recent swim the temperature was down to 9°C.
"Anything under 14 is supposed to be cold.
"I think the coldest we’ve ever done was in July one year where it was 2 degrees.
"It’s a whole mindset thing and telling yourself it’s all OK."
Mrs Godwin, a nurse, said cold water experiences were very beneficial, both physically and mentally.
"If you look into the health benefits of it, they are so good.
"From a physical perspective the cold resets your vagus nerve, so that resets your parasympathetic, your relaxation as such.
"If you can stay in a little longer the mental health benefits of it have been scientifically proven as well.
"If you can get your cold water when you don’t want to it’s important, because like in life there’s a lot of things you don’t want to do.
"But if you make yourself, you actually come out feeling quite euphoric because you’ve pushed your boundaries."
She did recommend for anyone wanting to have a go to get a doctor’s checkup because cold water could put a lot of pressure on the heart.
Newcomer to the group Beks Taylor said she was loving the experience so far.
"The warmth of this group really makes up for cold of the sea.
"I’ll definitely be back. I’m excited to come on Wednesday so I can see the sunset," she said.
The group welcomed any and all newcomers who wanted to come down and give it a try.
They meet at the carpark near the beach volleyball courts off Marine Parade on Wednesday about 5pm and on Saturday at 8.40am.
