Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Before the 2016 Big Chill Swim International Winter Swimming World Cup, Lewis Pugh, OIG will headline the WOWSA Awards on Friday February 5th at the Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel and Marina in Windermere, England.
Pugh will speak at the evening ceremony and present the WOWSA Awards. Chillswim Director Colin Hill said, “As a international award ceremony recognizing outstanding swimmers from 2014 and 2015, there is no more relevant speaker than ocean advocate and pioneer swimmer, Lewis Pugh. His own achievements are remarkable and inspirational.
Pugh has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other person in history. He swam across the icy waters of the North Pole to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice, and across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the impact of climate change on the Himalayan glaciers. Lewis has swum in the world’s most hostile places; the North Cape, the Antarctic, the Cape of Good Hope and the North Pole and developed an understanding of the beauty, the preciousness and fragility of life and its many eco-systems. Driven by nothing more than deep belief, he has achieved things most would regard as impossible.”
The WOWSA Awards [see nominees below] are part of the Big Chill Swim International Winter Swimming World Cup and will be held on Friday February 5th at the Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel and Marina in the Lake District.
After a 3 course meal and Buck’s Fizz at the luxury lakeside hotel in the Lake District, Councillor Ben Berry will introduce event visionary Colin Hill and guest speaker Pugh.
Pugh will speak about the 7 fundamental lessons he learned while and from swimming in the Arctic and Antarctic and up in the Himalayas.
The talk is an outstanding precursor to the Big Chill Swim event on February 6th and 7th.
“Pugh has swum in the most inhospitable conditions humanly possible,” said WOWSA’s Steven Munatones. “Winter swimmers and anyone looking to swim in cold water have no better teacher. In his most recent swim in Antarctica in the Southern Ocean, the sea temperature was -1ºC, the air temperature was -37ºC, and the wind was gusting at 40 knots. He has set the standard in creating environmental swims, especially those in unfathomably cold water. We all can take inspiration from his efforts and the 7 lessons he has learned.”
Visit here to register for the evening of inspiration and camaraderie among cold water swimmers.
The nominees of the annual World Open Water Swimming Awards come from all over the world including Mexico, Hungary, Great Britain, France, U.S.A., Germany, Macedonia, the Philippines, India, Czech Republic, Italy, Canada, Australia, Finland, South Africa, Argentina, the Netherlands, Spain, New Zealand, Jersey, Switzerland, Turkey, Denmark, Israel and Russia.
The WOWSA Awards are meant to honor the men and women who:
* best embody the spirit of open water swimming,
* possess the sense of adventure, tenacity and perseverance that open water swimmers are known for, and
* have most positively influenced the world of open water swimming in calendar year 2014.
and products, events and services that:
* best support and assist open water swimmers achieve their goals,
* are innovative, unique and beneficial to open water swimmers, race directors, coaches or administrators, and
* have made the most positive impact on the world of open water swimming during the calendar year.
These nominees include the following inspirational groups of individuals and offerings:
2015 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year nominees:
1. Antonio Argüelles (Mexico) Channel Swimmer Redux
2. Attila Mányoki (Hungary) Prolific Ocean Swimmer
3. Ben Hooper (Great Britain) Transoceanic Challenger
4. Benoît Lecomte (France/U.S.A.) Transoceanic Adventurer
5. Christof Wandratsch (Germany) Ice Swimming Record Holder
6. Evgenij Pop Acev (Macedonia) FINA Grand Prix Champion
7. Ingemar Patiño Macarine (Philippines) Pinoy Aquaman
8. James Tout (U.S.A.) Long-overdue Triple Crowner
9. Lewis Pugh, OIG (Great Britain) Ocean Advocate
10. Rohans More (India) Oceans Seven Adventurer
11. Rostislav Vitek (Czech Republic) Ice Swimmer Extraordinaire
12. Simone Ruffini (Italy) Olympian & World Champion
To vote for the World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year, visit here.
2015 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year nominees:
1. Alex Cape (Canada) Freshwater Adventurer
2. Aurélie Muller (France) Olympian and World Champion
3. Bridgette Hobart Janeczko (U.S.A.) Prolific Marathon Swimmer
4. Chloë McCardel (Australia) Channel Swimmer & Coach
5. Elina Makïnen (Finland) Ice Swimmer
6. Elizabeth Fry (U.S.A.) Double Downing
7. Lorna Cochran (South Africa) Nonagenarian Swimmer
8. Pilar Geijo (Argentina) FINA Grand Prix Champion
9. Rachelle Bruni (Italy) Olympian & FINA World Cup Champion
10. Renata Novakova (Czech Republic) Ice Swimming World Champion
11. Sharon van Rouwendaal (Netherlands) Olympic Cross-over Speedster
12. Tita Llorens (Spain), Marathon Swimmer
To vote for the World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, visit here.
2015 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year nominees:
1. Andreas Fath (Germany) Swim for Science
2. Andrea Fazio (Italy) Like Father, Like Son
3. Christian Reichert (Germany) FINA World Cup Champion
4. Dan Projansky (U.S.A.) Butterflying Marathoner
5. Jim Clifford (U.S.A.) Oldest Triple Crowner
6. Fast and Frozen (International) Two-way North Channel Relay
7. Ganga Avahan (India) Stage Swimmers
8. Jordan Wilimovsky (U.S.A.) Olympian & World Champion
9. Kelly Gneiting (U.S.A.) Sumo Swimmer
10. Kimberley Chambers (New Zealand) Farallon Freestyler
11. Matthew Moseley (U.S.A.), Lake-River-Ocean Swimmer
12. Mike Arbuthnot (South Africa) Midmar Mile Founder
13. Nejib Belhedi (Tunisia) Camel Swim
14. Night Train Swimmers (International) NT300 Relay
15. Oceans Seven Relay (International) Global Crossings
16. Susan Simmons (Canada) Swimming with Multiple Sclerosis
17. Swim The Eden Expedition (Great Britain)
18. Team Nadadores Locos (U.S.A.) Two-way Farallon Islands Relay
19. The Old Men And The Sea Relay (U.S.A.) Catalina Cruisers
20. The Deep Enders (U.S.A.)
21. Theodore Yach (South Africa) Robben Island Swimmer
22. Trent Theroux (U.S.A.) Comeback Circumnavigation
23. Wendy Trehiou (Jersey)
To vote for the World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year, visit here.
2015 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year nominees:
1. Axis Buoy by FINIS (U.S.A.)
2. Best Places To Swim by Orca (New Zealand)
3. Chillswim Coniston by Chillswim (Great Britain)
4. Find A Way by Diana Nyad (U.S.A.)
5. IOLITE by Stephen Holm, Raymond Rogers, Justin Peck (U.S.A.)
6. Lake Geneva Swimming Association by Ben Barham (Switzerland)
7. Madswimmers Charity Swims by Jean Craven (South Africa)
8. Samsung Boğaziçi Kıtalararası Yüzme Yarışı (Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim) by the National Olympic Committee of Turkey (Turkey)
9. Sting No More™ by Dr. Angel Yanagihara (U.S.A.)
10. Swim Across America (U.S.A.)
11. The SwimCross (Switzerland)
12. SwimEars® by Hans Henrik Heming (Denmark)
13. Swimmit by Ivan Peralta (Spain)
14. SwimTrack by Evan Morrison (U.S.A.)
15. WEST (Water World Swimming Therapy) (Israel)
16. World Ice Swimming Championships (Russia)
To vote for the World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year, visit here. Voting continues until December 31st 2015.
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association