On Thursday 26 December 2024, Prague's Vltava River beside Slovanský Island will host the 78th Alfred Nikodém Memorial, a celebration for winter swimmers. The race is organised by I. plavecký klub otužilců Praha.
Our second month of winter swimming together at U Žida in Frýdek-Místek is drawing to a close. The river temperature has been falling slowly but steadily. Today, after the snowfall, it dropped below 4°C — the point at which we cold-water swimmers call it “icy”.
Despite complications with the flood clean-up, less-than-ideal weather and water that could have been clearer, we began our sixth season of winter swimming together at U Žida on the first Saturday in October, as planned.
The severe floods in mid-September caused widespread damage. Unfortunately, U Žida weir, where we meet for winter swimming, was not spared. Thankfully, repair work is already under way as I write this on 29 September. It mainly involves dredging and removing stones that have completely filled parts of the river channel. There is a good chance the site will be ready for the start of the new season, allowing us to swim safely at “our” weir throughout the winter.
We had a wonderful day at U Žida on 30 March 2024. Together with our swimming friends from Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, we brought six months of cold-water swimming at U Žida to a close. The weather was glorious and we saw some impressive sporting performances, but above all we came together to do something we all enjoy. Here in Frýdek-Místek, cold-water swimming is more than a sport: it is a chance for like-minded people to meet.
Registration is now open for the second Cold-Water Duathlon. The race is part of the joint end-of-season gathering for the Frýdek-Místek and Frýdlant nad Ostravicí cold-water swimming groups, starting at 9 am on 30 March 2024.
On 30 March 2024, after six months of cold-water swimming, we will close the season at U Žida in Frýdek-Místek together with the Frýdlant nad Ostravicí swimmers. The event includes our second Cold-Water Duathlon: a race in which you run, swim and run again.
So we took our annual group photograph — more than one, in fact, and not just group shots. At 1.9°C, the water was perfect for winter swimmers. The photographs in the album below are by Vojtěch Vajda. Thank you for them.
On Wednesday 10 January, it finally happened: a run of freezing days brought ice to the river. The whole entry pool and the entrance to the main Ostravice channel had frozen over. First we had to break the ice; only then could we enjoy a proper wallow in the icy water. We photographed and filmed everything, because you never know when it might be your last chance :-) The water was a lovely 0.0°C.
