9th to 12th July 2025, Saint Bathans, Central Otago
By Susan Sherwen
This years event at St Bathans, marked our fourth National Ice Swimming Championship. We extend sincere appreciation to our dedicated volunteers, whose commitment of time, expertise, and enthusiasm is invaluable. Their contributions are essential to the success of these events. We sincerely thank all those who volunteered.
Ice swimming fosters a distinctive community that consistently attracts participants. It is my belief that, while the physical challenge plays a role, the primary draw lies in the strong sense of camaraderie, lasting friendships, and an encouraging atmosphere. This year, 33 swimmers who had previously competed in the New Zealand Championships returned, with most aiming to complete the Ice Mile.
Thirteen swimmers joined the Ice for the first time, and most plan to return.
We were pleased to welcome international swimmers Marion Joffle (France), JB Lanza (United States), and Teodor Tsvetkov (Bulgaria) who participated in our Championships as part of completing the Oceania leg of their Ice 7’s challenge.
Over the four days Swimmers successfully completed
20 ICE Miles including 3 Extreme Miles (The most Ice Miles completed in one event anywhere in the world.)
23 x 1000m
19 x 500m
18 x 250m
Congratulations to all our swimmers for their achievements.
Special recognition to our Official Ice Mile Swimmers this year, it is a mammoth achievement.
Jackson Arlidge 2750m, Teodor Tsvetkov 2000m & Corinna Connor 2000m
Jackson Arlidge, Marion Joffle, JB Lanza, Anna Marshall, Bethany Rogers, Quinn Boyle, Adam O’Byrne, Jeannine Goddard, Craig Neale, Stephen Moore, Anneke Veenstra, Sonia Christensen, Laetitia Berten, Cindy van Sleeuwen, Stacey Balich, Rachel Averill, Fiona Turner and Davey Jones.
These swimmers are no longer Cool or Cold, they are ICE!
Membership: Warm is our officials who are sensible and keep their toes out of the water, Cool have done an Ice swim shorter than 1000m, Cold have done a 1000m Ice swim, Ice swimmers have completed a mile.
We have established several training hubs around the country where swimmers can safely train in groups with accurate information. Newcomers to Ice swimming are directed to these groups for guidance and support.
This year we had two weekend camps in Taupo, a two-day Camp in Central Otago and a day camp in Wellington. These are invaluable learning experiences where we get together and share our knowledge and develop friendships.
This year, a permit was required by DOC. The process involved applying for and meeting certain requirements. The necessary fees and requirements led to higher entry costs for participants.
I am extremely proud of what we have achieved this year as we all should be.
Susan Sherwen
Event Director