Hawke’s Bay swimmers chase Frozen Ferns selection at Alexandra ice championships
Two Hawke’s Bay swimmers are entering near-freezing waters on July 18 with a chance of selection for Aotearoa New Zealand’s national ice swimming team, the Frozen Ferns.
Davey Jones and Debbie Rodgers will travel to Alexandra to compete at the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) New Zealand Pool Championships, where water temperatures must remain at 5C or below.
Success at the championships could earn them selection in the Frozen Ferns, before the 2027 World Championships in Oradea, Romania.
This will be Jones’ second national ice swimming campaign after completing the 1km and 1.6km ice mile events in Blue Lake at St Bathans last year. But only the pool championships count towards national team selection.
For the 58-year-old Hawke’s Bay Fish & Game field officer, the chance to represent New Zealand is one he could not pass up.
“It’s about taking the next step. I’ve watched the Frozen Ferns, and I wanted to give it a go,” he said.
Jones, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti and Ngā Rauru, much prefers rivers, lakes and the ocean to conventional swimming pools. He will race the 50m, 100m and 1km freestyle events.
While he can comfortably swim 1km in warm summer water in under 20 minutes, near-freezing conditions present a different challenge.
“Swimmers are no different than a tree in winter. The ground is cold, the water is cold, so the tree’s growth slows down.
“The same thing happens to us. We want to go faster, but the cold prevents that. That’s the challenge, training your body to operate more efficiently.”
Rodgers’ introduction to ice swimming came from the St Bathans shoreline. Last year, she took on a marshalling role as well as athlete gear checks and videoing swims, all required for official IISA recording.
But watching wasn’t enough for the English as a Second Language teacher.
“I wanted to get into the water the whole time.”
A former junior competitive swimmer in Wellington, Rodgers, 45, will contest the 250m freestyle and the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke this year.
With international ice swimming continuing to grow, the winners of this year’s newly introduced age-group 200m backstroke and 200m breaststroke races will establish the first official world records in those events.
The pair’s training has included regular swims in the 11C waters off Ahuriri beach and training in the Tauranga-Taupō River, Maraetotara Falls, and Lake Rototuna, part of the Kaweka Forest Park Twin Lakes.
Water temperatures have been as low as 8C. They have also added sessions in a 4C Moji outdoor ice bath to help prepare for the shock of race conditions.
For Rodgers, the biggest challenge is controlling her body’s response to the cold.
“I feel it in my chest. It’s a gasp. A fight-or-flight response takes hold.
“I tell myself, ‘You’ve got this. You’re stronger than you think.’ I repeat that until the swimming calms me down.”
Both stress that cold-water swimming shouldn’t be underestimated.
They always swim with a buddy, limit their time in the water, and follow carefully practised warming routines afterwards.
In Alexandra, every competitor will undergo a second medical check before racing, wear a safety belt during their swim, and be monitored continuously by trained spotters.
A heated recovery room, blankets and emergency personnel, including doctors, paramedics and nurses, are on hand.
Jones and Rodgers say they have found their tribe – “a welcoming community of crazy cold immersive individuals” – through ice swimming.
If selected, they will join a New Zealand team of between 10 and 20 athletes travelling to Romania in January.
As in many niche sports, competitors must fund their own training and travel.
“I would love to represent my country,” Jones said.
“To have the opportunity at this age, why not?”
If selected, he jokes that he will have to abandon his long-held dislike of pool swimming and train in one if he wants to match the world’s best.
Rodgers, who has already added pool swimming to her training schedule, says selection would be a dream.
“I’ve always loved swimming. It’s always calmed me and reminds me of time spent with my father.
“This is something I will do my entire life.”