STRACHUR swimmer Jacqui Winter is off to Scandinavia in search of swimming success as she takes part in this year’s Winter Swimming World Championship, to be held in Oulu, Finland, from March 2–8.
A bi-annual event held every two years, the championships consist of more than ten different distances and disciplines, and attract 2,000 winter swimmers from around the world.
A saw is used to cut the ice and make the swim area, and the water itself is expected to be at freezing temperature come competition time.
The field is a mix of elite swimmers, first-timers and enthusiasts like Jacqui, testing their own resilience.
But Jacqui’s love for swimming started long before gracing the icy waters of Finland, as she often competed in indoor swimming as a child.
However, she fell out of love with the sport for a period and, aged 40, turned to running before combining it with her childhood hobby.
Jacqui said: I did short distances, marathon distances and combined my running with swimming in aquathlons and swim-running.
After that I thought, what next? So, with a group of just 12 others, I decided to try and swim all winter, and we did it, initially in wetsuits, but towards the end of the winter we took our wetsuits off and I was hooked on the cold, so went looking for others who were as mad as me.
I found The Bluetits Chill Swimmers, an inclusive cold water swimming community founded by the most inspirational woman called Sian Richardson, with over 150 volunteer-led groups worldwide, and I knew I had found my passion.
Cold water swimming is known to have many benefits, as Jacqui explained: Everyone gets something different from the cold.
For some it helps with menopausal symptoms; for some it is the quietening and calming of the mind. For others it is the personal challenge of swimming in the cold. For me, it is just joy.
Sometimes we don’t want to get in, but we always feel better when we get out.
You never regret a swim. It is not just the swim though, it is the community, the chat, the support, the company and all that goes with it.
And this community that Jacqui has happened upon has led her to competing on the world stage.
After a trip to the same competition in 2024 with fellow Bluetits, Jacqui has returned to defend their record for the largest winter swimming relay.
She added: It was a truly unforgettable experience – a team of ordinary people doing something extraordinary together.
I felt proud, inspired and honoured to be part of something so powerful. Now, in 2026, we are doing it all again, this time in Oulu. We have medals to defend and a world record for the largest winter swimming relay to retain.
In order to prepare for the championships, Jacqui has been training in the nearby Loch Fyne and Loch Eck, as she feels she has no excuse living close to both.
She continued: I swim in rain, snow and even have a pickaxe to get in if we have ice.
Although there are no team members near me, an amazing group of swimmers called the Fyne Lassies have welcomed me with open arms and I am in the water with them all the time.
And Jacqui hopes her hard graft will put her in a good position come tournament time.
On her aspirations for the championship, she said: To survive – I have never swum face in at these temperatures before.
I also hope we beat our world record swim from two years ago.
The games kick off in Oulu, Finland, on March 2 and run until March 8.
