Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
The International Ice Swimming Association held its inaugural officials course in Burghausen, Germany ahead of its Ice Swimming Aqua Sphere Championships.
“Well done to our first class of International Ice Swimming Association certified officials,” said founder Ram Barkai. “We had great attendance and it was a very important step for our sport growth globally. The next two courses are scheduled for February 18th and 19th in Dublin and London.”
What is ice swimming? Who are the personalities involved? What is the history? What are the rules and traditions? What do the courses look like and what kind of equipment is used?
For a cursory overview of the emerging niche in the open water swimming community, view links below:
Definitions
* Ice swimming
* Winter swimming
* Ice Zero Swimmer
* High-altitude swimming
* Rewarming
* Afterdrop
* Hyperthermia
* Ice Kilometer
* Ice Mile
* Ice Sevens
* Open turn
Pioneers and Advocates
* Lynne Cox, USA
* Lewis Pugh, Great Britain
* Ryan Stramrood, South Africa
* Matías Ola, Argentina
* Ger Kennedy, Ireland
* Alexandr Brylin, Russia
* Wang Gang Yi, China
Organizers and Administrators
* Colin Hill, Great Britain
* Mariia Yrjö-Koskinen, Finland
* Ram Barkai, South Africa
* John Coningham-Rolls, Great Britain
* Dmitriy Dragozhilov, Russia
* Tatiana Redkina, Russia
* Aleksandr Jakovlevs, Latvia
* Nuala Moore, Ireland
* Dmitry Blokhin, Russia
* Josef Köberl, Austria
Leading Competitors
* Christof Wandratsch, Germany
* Petar Stoychev, Bulgaria
* Rostislav Vitek, Czech Republic
* Christopher Bryan, Ireland
* Conor Turner, Ireland
* Gergi Hesterman, Netherlands
* Benjamin Konschak, Germany
* Jack Boyle, Ireland
* Sabrina Wiedmer, Switzerland
* Petr Šlajs, Czech Republic
* Henri Kaarma, Estonia
* Julia Wittag, Germany
* Tobias Wybierek, Germany
* Raymond Oosterbaan, Netherlands
* Herman van der Westhuizen
* Victoria Mori, Argentina
Governing Bodies
* International Ice Swimming Association
* International Winter Swimming Association
* United States Winter Swimming Association
* Ice Swimming Association Austria
Events
* Ice Swimming Aqua Sphere World Championships
* Ice Swimming Aqua Sphere German Open
* Ireland Ice Swimming Championships
* World Winter Swimming Championships
* Russian Open Winter Swimming Championships
* Tyumen Open Water Swimming Cup
* Big Chill Swim
* International Winter Swimming Association World Cup
* Jelgavas Roni Cup
* Scandinavian Winter Swimming Championships
* Festival Internacional de Natación de Invierno en Argentina
* Pirita Open
* Polar Olympics
* Eiskönig Chiemsee powered by Aqua Sphere
* Dutch Open Ice Swim Championships
Locations
* Vienna, Austria
* Burghausen, Germany
* Lake Tahoe, California, USA
* Murmansk, Russia
* Tyumen, Russia
* Jelgava, Latvia
* Tallinn, Estonia
* Southern Ocean
* Conroy Pond, Ireland
* Skellefteå, Sweden
Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association