A new festive favourite for many is to take a fun and exhilarating plunge into the water over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Whether you are an experienced festive dipper or it’s your first time giving it a go check out these safety tips to make it a tradition you’ll keep coming back to.
Event – Find an organised event from the multitude available over Christmas. They will be well managed and have safety cover.
Sociable – Go with friends or family, making it a sociable event adds to the fun but helps keep you safe too. Never go in after drinking alcohol or if you’re a little worse for wear from the night before. Your judgement will be off, and you’ll likely not have the reserves to overcome the cold easily.
Control – Enter the water calmly. Don’t dive in as you’ll risk inhaling water with the inevitable cold shock gasp. Control your breathing with long exhales to help you overcome the shock
Acclimatise – Don’t overstay your welcome in the cold. Once you’ve acclimatised to the cold you can start to enjoy the zing and tingle of the cold water, but don’t overdo it and get out as soon as you notice that you’re getting chilly.
Plan – Have a plan for getting out. Get out, get dry and get dressed quickly. Organising your clothes and towels so that everything is easy to get to and get on will help you warm up again quickly
Enjoy – Enjoy every moment! Make sure you’ve got a warm drink and something sweet to refuel with afterwards and you’ll be certain to feel amazing afterwards and ready for another dip soon.
Whatever you do, have a great swim that you’ll remember and celebrate as a fond festive memory. Head to our website for more tips and advice
Thanks!