Ice swimming is not a sport for hot heads or the nimble-fingered, and you will need a support crew to dress you afterwards.
This weekend in Alexandra, the race is on to crown the king and queen of ice swimming at the inaugural New Zealand National Ice Swimming Pool Championships.
Twenty-six swimmers have been certified by doctors as fit to freeze in Alexandra’s outdoor, unheated pool, which is a perfect 4.5degC.
Wanaka swimmers Rachel Armstrong and Camille Gulick intend to swim events from 100m to 1000m, depending on how they cope.
"Camille is to blame for me entering. I had no idea it was a thing, or it existed, had never heard of it. And then Camille posted in our chat group for swimming that there was an ice mile to enter," Ms Armstrong said.
Ms Gulick participated in an ice swim event last year at Lake Lyndon, inland from Christchurch, and the organisers of that event then decided to organise an official pool championship this year.
"[It] is the first of its kind for New Zealand, so it is very exciting ... Hopefully there is no ice on the pool. The last I’ve heard, the pool is 4.5degC, which is ideal because it has to be below five to be official but you want it as close to five as possible, I think," Ms Gulick said.
Both women have been preparing for months by swimming in lakes and rivers.
"I was in Lake Wakatipu yesterday [Sunday]. I did a swim race there of 1km, and that was the first time in a long time I have actually hyperventilated because the water was so cold," Ms Armstrong said.
"It’s an incredibly attractive sport ... and you need lots of help when you get out because your hands don’t work, so you have very lovely friends to help you put your socks on and make sure you don’t spill your tea."
The championships are being organised by the newly-established New Zealand branch of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA), founded in Germany in 2009. Ice swimming is defined as unassisted swimming in a water temperature of 5degC, and swimmers can wear only a silicon cap, pair of goggles and a standard swimming costume.
The sport now has members in 73 countries, a world championship and is aiming to become a Winter Olympic sport.
Health and safety rules include getting a medical before competing, and having trained medics on site.
