The Outdoor Swimming Society Crowdfunder 2023

Aim: The OSS team's Christmas Wish List items are yours to win! Join us for some phenomenal Outdoor Swimming prizes, at only £5 an entry!

We've got a Christmas Cracker of a prize list - there's a 1 in 100 chance of winning prizes that include a week's swimming holiday in Greece, thermal and Yulex wetsuits, a group snorkelling trip and an ice bath! Plus many more gifts for the adventurous, water loving, and environmentally minded outdoor swimmer.

Bag a reward by joining the Christmas Crowdfunder. Tickets are only £5 per entry and your pledge keeps us online, independent and sharing the swim love into 2024. And beyond. The reward receipt from Crowdfunder is the acknowledgement that you have entered the prize draw (you will not receive a ticket from The OSS).  See Prize Draw Terms and Conditions.

The Prizes...

GREEK SWIMMING HOLIDAY - £1,320

SwimQuest holidays are offering a place on a week's swim holiday on Mathraki Island, Corfu - with a choice of swims on an amazing escape-from-it-all stay! (or the winner can choose a £1000 voucher towards any SwimQuest trip).  

ICE BATH AND ACCESSORIES from URBAN ICE TRIBE - approx £1,000

Urban Ice Tribe are spearheading sustainable Ice Baths in the UK, with their beautiful galvanized steel stock tanks. We’ve got a one of their oblong baths, with a gorgeous hardwood cover, in-water thermometer and comfy headrest for one very lucky winner! OSS founder Kate Rew loves hers!

SNORKELLING with TONIC OF THE SEA - £240

Katie Maggs @tonicofthesea runs organized snorkelling experiences off the Cornish Coast, and is offering a lucky OSS winner a hour’s snorkel tour for up to 6 people.  Join her on a low tide adventure – looking for marine life including spider crabs, urchins and kelp forests!

ANOTHER PLACE HOTEL  with ULLSWATER SWIM PLACE COACHING - £1,000

Another Place is a relaxed, contemporary hotel on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District. The prize on offer is not ‘just’ a two night stay, but the winner ALSO gets sessions with Marathon swim coach Colin Hill at Ullswater Swim Place.

ALPKIT SILVERTIP WETSUITS - £224.99 x 4

The go-to winter swimming wetsuit from Alpkit is one seen on many of the OSS team throughout the winter - it’s the perfect suit to keep you swimming through the cold and we've got 4 of them to give away.  Alpkit are also offering OSS members 33% off any Silvertip wetsuit, with the code OSS33.

DRYROBE®  LITE - £280 x 4

The newest dryrobe® Lite - high performance eco fabrics throughout, fully waterproof and quick drying – but now super lightweight. It’s designed for ultimate portability - perfect for those who want to explore more, and there are 4 of them to win.

COOTS LONDON SWIMSUITS - £110/£170 x 2

 'For those that want to swim, but not compromise on design’. COOTS London are a performance swimwear brand, designed and made in East London in their zero waste factory. They’re offering two of their performance suits (one piece or jammers) in your choice of their iconic colours/styles.

ZONE3 YULEX SUITS - £110/£155 x 6

Zone 3 are at the forefront of the ecofriendly wetsuit revolution. We’ve got 6 of their cutting edge Yulex suits (women’s suits or men’s long sleeve top and Jammer combos) up for grabs.

ORCA ACCESSORIES - £129 x 7

Orca make some of the favourite accessories of the OSS team – and they’re offering 7 bundles (Kila 180 goggles, Neoprene gloves, boots and cap) to keep you warm and swimming through the winter.

DART10K TICKETS - £120 x 4

The Dart10k is the first, and arguably the finest, marathon-distance swim in the UK. Our friends at Level Water are offering two pairs of tickets for the Sunday swim!

SEA STUDIO 2024 CALENDARS - £30 x 5

Internationally renowned photographer, and OSS contributor, Niall Meehan is offering 5x of his 2024 calendars – A3 size featuring his amazing Irish Sea outdoor swim photos.

THE OUTDOOR SWIMMERS' HANDBOOK  - £19x5

Written by OSS Founder Kate Rew it combines hard-won, deeply researched information on how to swim safely and joyfully out-of-doors, with vivid first-hand accounts of swims in astonishing places and with remarkable people. Five copies will be sent out to lucky winners.

OSS RIGHT TO ROAM MUG - £12x10

From the OSS shop we've got 10 of our favourite big tea mugs decorated with a stunning riverside design created by artist Nick Hayes, and we'll even throw in a sticker, tea and a biscuit

WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

How do we do it? Run a community of 200,000 people, a free monthly journal, a website with a million visitors a year, a right to swim campaign, represent swimmers in the media, conversations with other outdoors groups and charities the country over all year round - without any money? 

Asks literally no one, ever. 

Mostly we do it by working for free, with a team of volunteers contributing their time, talents and most of all passion to making The Outdoor Swimming Society what it is. 

But occasionally, we do a fundraiser, where we ask you, the swimmers, to buy yourself a £5 ticket for a one in 100 chance of winning something amazing. Thank you to all of you for making the community what it is, and to our partners and brands below for their generous help with this fundraiser.

WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED LATELY

The Outdoor Swimming Society is a free space dedicated to sharing information and inspiration to an international audience. Our mission is to protect the heart and soul of free swimming, and provide a space for people to find others. We always work to innovate, motivate and support swimmers the world over. This is some of what we've done since our last fundraiser in 2021:

• We stayed online, independent and free.
• We created a 10km training manual – the follow on from our hugely successful SwimCouchto5k created to help swimmers exiting lockdown – helping the average swimmer train for the equivalent of a marathon.
• Our UK open water Inland Access Group helped multiple local groups fight for their right to swim, and we have continued to  gain traction on the Right To Swim and to be at the forefront of the ‘Right to Roam’ movement to increase access to water and wild spaces in the UK. We continued with our Mass Kinder Trespass (film of 2023 coming soon!) which has fast become an established event with a huge increase in participants and made news internationally (eg The New Yorker).
• We supported the Royal National Lifeboat Institute summer safety, Project Seagrass and our official charity, Level Water.
• We continue to represent swimmers and be the source of outdoor swimming information for organisations such as the RSPB, National Trust, Port Authorities, and work alongside others in access such as British Canoe Union.
• We are a member of a Sport England collaboration, the Swim Alliance, working to increase access to swimming.
• We raise awareness of swimming, contributing to media weekly and making the case for greater access to outdoor swimming opportunities.
• We delivered 24 issues of our flagship monthly journal elsewhere for free to 34k subscribers.
• We continue to publish articles on a range of water safety issues seen from the perspective of an independent swimmer – from ’10 ways to stay well swimming’ to ‘Cold Water: a temperature guide’ helping keep swimmers safe and informed.
• We contributed to a wide range of media stories, helping to keep swimmers swimming through sensible, practical, fact-based comment. eg the 3% access myth and the 1 degree myth.
• Saw the release of the ultimate swimmers’ handbook:  The Outdoor Swimmers’ Handbook by OSS Founder Kate Rew (Rider, 2022).

Help keep us online, free and independent - SHARING THE SWIM LOVE into 2024 and beyond! Thank you!

PRIZE DRAW DETAILS

• Please provide your contact details when purchasing entries to the prize draw, as we'll need these details to let you know if you have won a prize.
• For free entry into the prize draw via postcard, send your name, address and email to The Outdoor Swimming Society [mailbox address removed as the competition is now closed].
• Our prize draw closes on Wednesday 20th December at 23:59. The winners will be notified by email by 23.59 on Saturday 23rd December. Unsuccessful entrants will not be notified.
• A list of the winners will be posted on the prize draw page on The OSS website.
• In alignment with gambling regs, the prize draw is open to residents of Great Britain only (Scotland, Wales, England). For our international friends, do become a member and we are grateful for donations.
• Prize Draw Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy

This project successfully funded on 20th December 2023