A case for winter swimming
Yeah, Dean Martin … you’re right. It may not be snowing but El Niño has kicked in and the sou’westers are ripping down the beach. The choppy waves are sliding sideways to the shore and grey clouds are scudding busily across the sky.
“Whose stupid idea is this?” laments my husband, as he has every weekend this winter, as we eyeball the uninviting ocean yet again. It’s part of the ritual, you see, I’d be disappointed if he didn’t say it. He is fully clad neck to ankle in his ‘super blue’ wetsuit … my legs are goose-bumped and mottled below my shortie spring-suit. This is the hardest part … getting in.
Wim Hof, the Dutch motivational speaker known as the Ice Man, says, “You’re stronger than you think you are.” He proves this by immersing himself in an ice bath daily. Practising this ritual evidently reduces your stress levels, strengthens your immune system, increases your willpower and control, and heightens your focus and determination … amongst other benefits.
Once you have become ‘comfortably numb’ (thank you Pink Floyd), swimming in cold water actually becomes quite enjoyable.
And at risk of the commentator’s curse … I haven’t been really sick over the three years I’ve been winter swimming. I/we feel great when we get out of the water, invigorated and slightly giggly as we attempt to put clothes on whilst battling wind and sand. It feels good and it’s doing us good.
But the real reason I’ve been winter swimming at weekends for three years (latterly joined by hubby) is a charity called Kenzie’s Gift. I stumbled upon the Kenzie’s Gift winter swim challenge three years ago. I’d been thinking about swimming all year but needed the kick in the butt/motivation to make me do it. The idea of being sponsored and being answerable to those sponsors (and not letting my charity down) is the catalyst I needed. It has prompted me to swim in raging seas, knee deep, cold and slightly terrified, just to make sure of another tick on the board. Other days the sun has shone, and dolphins have frolicked further out to sea … but that doesn’t happen often.
Kenzie’s Gift was founded in the name of a wee, three year-old girl who passed away from cancer in 2005. Her mother Nic Russell founded the charity a year later with the aim ‘to create a brighter future for young Kiwis affected by serious illness or grief by supporting good mental health and ensuring no young Kiwi faces serious illness or grief alone’.
Nic had seen a gap in mental/emotional support for children in these most difficult and challenging circumstances and stepped up. With Nigel Latta as Ambassador, the charity provides one-on-one counselling and supportive resources for the children and their families.
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. I count my blessings every time an icy cold wave hits my body … my ‘kids’ are healthy adults and long may they stay that way.
If the idea of me freezing my butt off in cold water appeals to you (with my big blue support person) and you want to support the mahi of Nic Russell and her team, then jump online and make a donation. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a dollar … you know it’s going to a great cause and, in this wintry weather, it may just warm the cockles of your heart to know you’ve helped.
Words by Deli Connell
