Ice Swimming in Armagh.
On Saturday the 25th of January, Frank Hallissey, Blackwater Triathlon Club’s resident polar bear wannabe, travelled to Wild Water in Armagh to take part in the National 1K Ice Swimming Championships. The event was held in association with The International Ice Swimming Association (IISA). Formed in 2009, the IISA’s mission is to promote swimming in icy waters in every location possible around the world. The organisation has put in place a well considered set of rules to allow for maximum safety measures in this extreme sport and to regulate swim integrity in terms of distance, time, conditions and safety. IISA introduced the Ice Mile as its ultimate achievement of swimming in ice waters. An Ice Mile is One Mile in water of 5C or less. The swim must be unassisted and with one pair of goggles, cap and standard swimming costume. In 2014 IISA introduced the 1km Ice event. The event allows swimmers to compete in icy waters of 5C or less under IISA rules for 1000m. This is Frank’s third year taking part in this event and he completed his 1000 metre swim in 17:05. Unfortunately, on the day the water temperatures reached 5.5 degrees Celsius and as a result the swim didn’t qualify as an official Ice Swim.