The Ice Warriors group is encouraging swimmers of all levels to attend the event in the early morning of June 21
The Ice Warriors-led event takes place in the early hours of Sunday, June 21.(Image: Ice Warriors)
An open water swimming group is preparing to mark its 10th anniversary with a special summer solstice dip. Ice Warriors is based at Welton Waters Adventure Centre near Brough and will host a very early morning swim on June 21, the longest day of the year.
Members of all abilities are set to take to the cold waters of the Welton complex before enjoying BBQ food and yoga, as well as a few low-noise fireworks to mark the occasion. There are hopes as many as 100 swimmers could attend the event, organised by Ice Warriors founder Andy Butler.
The HGV driver, who has led the group for a decade said: “We’re an open water swimming group and we actually swim all the way through the seasons – right through winter, even if it’s -2 or such, we still go swimming. We have a Facebook page with more than 1,200 members who don’t all swim together!
“But we do a lot of safety work with our group. I’d like to say that we’re one of the best in the area for safety cover and making sure the swimmers are OK. We put them all through training for hypothermic shock and what to look for.”
Last year saw 84 people take to Welton Waters to see the sunrise. And this year, with tickets at £5 and spectators free, Andy and others are encouraging as many people as possible to come down to the family event. Gates to the centre will open at 3am before swimmers register their attendance before spending as long as they like in the water.
“All egos are left at the gate,” added Andy. “We have Channel swimmers, long-distance swimmers and people who just want to come down with a woolly hat on and do some breast stroke and chill out after a day’s work. It’s for everybody and all abilities – we even have a couple of wheelchair users that we manage to get into the Lake and they enjoy themselves.”
Swimmers can bring their own food on shoreside BBQs. Between 4:15am and 4:30am, everyone will take to the water wearing tow floats for visibility, ready to see the sun come up over the activity centre.
Andy, who started the group with around six people a decade ago and has gone on to do various training in open water swimming, said: “We get a few who start whooping and cheering as the sun comes up,” said Andy. “It should be a nice, easy and fun event – especially with it being Fathers’ Day as well.”
He added: “Touch wood we’ve had the weather on our side for the past few years. But the way I look at it is: you’re going in the water so you’re going to get wet anyway. If we get a little bit of rain it doesn’t matter that much. We have changing facilities inside, including showers.
“On previous years we’ve even had people come before work – brought their clothes, got showered and then gone to work to brag about what they did that morning.”
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