Scandinavian Winter Swimming Championships 2024

Yes, there are water sports in the North of Sweden in the winter

Yesterday I managed to do something I’ve been longing to do for a while. I photographed water sports in the north of Sweden in the winter! And what I mean by water sports is swimming in open water outside in -25 degrees celsius. It was wonderful conditions for photography, except for the cold, the sun was out and lots of white snow on the ground so there was lots of light which is always good when you’re taking sport photos. It’s easier to catch all the movement in sports.

It was a beautiful sunny day, but it was cold, very cold. I was dressed in lots of clothes because I knew I had to keep warm for a long time, standing still and taking pictures at the same time. The competition took place outside of the town of Skellefteå. You can find more information about the competition itself here at Vintersim.

So, I got up, got dressed and took the bus. Oh, a tip about skincare in the arctic region in the winter: don’t wash your face in the morning if you’re heading out into the freezing cold. This is something my father taught me, and he was working in the forests most of his life. Once he was going to cut some trees when it was -44 degrees. But, he changed his mind after a while in the forest and went home.

Anyhow, I got on the bus. Fortunately the communication between the cities along the coast are quite good so I got there in an hour, the E4-road that runs along the coast is a great road and there’s usually not too much traffic. Since I was going to take photos I didn’t want to drive because I get tiered from photographing and taking the bus is better for the environment. I had a nice lunch, and Swedish fika, at Paolos café at Wood Hotel in Skellefteå. The hotel is a famous high rise hotel almost completely made out of wood that has won many international design awards. I’ve stayed at the hotel last new years and it was a wonderful experience.

Anyhow, after lunch I took another bus and ended up in the town of Skelleftehamn close to the famous Northvolt battery factory that makes batteries for electrical cars. And after a short walk, the last part on the frozen water of Bay of Bothnia, I ended up on the competition site where the organizers had cut through the ice and made an outdoor swimming pool. The water was so cold it basically froze between the heats. There were people fishing up the ice from the lanes between the contests. And maybe it was the first time in my life that I didn’t want to jump into the water. But, I was a bit curious. Maybe sometime I’ll have a go at it. Just not when it is -25 celsius in the air. There were some swimmers who had their first go at winter swimming during the competition and I was so impressed by them, they seemed to enjoy their swim. There was also the teams that are the best winter swimmers competing, and they made a memorable experience for the audience. For the first round, the two swimmers of the opposing teams where just swimming along nicely in a slow pace chatting to each other. Next round they were doing some serious swimming competing against each other. And for the third round they were floating on their backs on the lanes. In freezing cold water, literally, at -25 degrees celsius. Most amazing!

I’m so impressed by the athletes. Everybody swam, they might have looked a little spooked during the swim but afterwards they seemed unfazed and some even walked around in their swimsuits. There were many international swimmers too so it’s not just a local thing. I saw swimmers from Latvia, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Germany to name a few. Have a look for yourself at the photos. And if you fancy some winter swimming visit Skellefteå next winter!