OSS Christmas Cracker Crowdfunder 2023

We took everything we wanted for Christmas, and put it under the tree

Sea Studio - Niall Meehan

There’s a 1 in 100 chance of winning prizes that include a swim holiday in Greece, a weekend in an Ullswater hotel (with coaching and guiding), an ice bath, and very specialist wetsuits: all prizes tailored for the adventurous, water-loving, and environmentally-minded outdoor swimmer.

Thanks to all participating partners and swimmers for making The OSS community what it is.

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). Our fundraising target is to  £20K. In alignment with gambling regs, the raffle is open to residents of Great Britain only (Scotland, Wales, England). For our international friends, please do become a member and we are grateful for donations.

THE PRIZES…

GREEK SWIMMING HOLIDAY (£1320)

SwimQuest are offering a place on one of their most-loved trips – a week on Mathraki Island, Greece. With just 40 inhabitants, one small hotel, village taverna, and serene, safe blue swimming it’s an escape-from-it all holiday. The lucky winner can choose to join the trip type that best suits them – a short swim week, long swim week, technique week or a relax and explore week. Prize does not include flights.  Winner can also choose to take the prize in the form of a £1000 voucher towards any SwimQuest trip.  See holiday T&C.

SWIM QUEST

Kate Rew/Urban Ice Tribe

ICE BATH & ACCESSORIES (around £1000)

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! They’re designed to look stunning as well as being easy to drain and supremely functional, and help keep you in cold water all year long. (OSS founder Kate Rew loves hers!).

 URBAN ICE TRIBE

 

GROUP SNORKEL (£240)

Katie Maggs @tonicofthesea is a BSAC snorkel instructor and registered snorkel centre, as well as a speaker, presenter and marine mammal medic with the British Diver Marine Life Rescue.  Katie 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 Katie on a low tide adventure – looking for marine life including spider crabs, urchins and kelp forests!

TONIC OF THE SEA 

 

Katie Maggs @tonicofthesea
Another Place Hotel on Ullswater Lake

2 nights in Ullswater + guiding and coaching (around £1000)

Another Place is a relaxed, contemporary hotel on the shores of Ullswater in the Lake District with an added extra – marathon swim Coach Colin Hill and his Ullswater Swim Place. This prize has it all: a two night stay for two, an endless pool training session for one and a stargazing swim for two. As well as the beautiful accommodation, the location is made for adventure – SUPing, kayaking, hiking and mountain biking are all on the doorstep.

ANOTHER PLACE HOTEL with ULLSWATER SWIM PLACE

ALPKIT SILVERTIP (4 x £224.99)

We have four thermal Silvertips to give away – plus a 33% discount for all OSS members (use OSS33 at checkout). The Silvertip is the go-to thermal swimming wetsuit for many of the OSS team (for some – throughout the year!).  3mm neoprene and fleece lining protects against the cold, whilst reducing drag and promoting the most efficient swimming position. Warm and buoyant but not too thick to swim comfortably, it’s a great suit for providing extra warmth.

ALPKIT

 

DRYROBE®  LITE (4 x £280)

The robust and fluffy dryrobe® advance is the original weatherproof changing robe (now with great ecocredentials), known and loved everywhere.  The newest addition to the range this year is the dryrobe® Lite – the same high performance eco fabrics throughout, fully waterproof and quick drying – but now super lightweight and with the ability to pack away in to a stuff-sack that measures just 38cm.  Super portable, and we have 4 to send out.

DRYROBE®  LITE

 

COOTS SWIMSUIT (2 x £110/£170)

We have two econyl performance swim suits (one piece or jammer) to give away from performance swimwear brand COOTS London. Designed and made in East London in a zero waste factory, these products as well as being super stylish are made from regenerated nylon (ECONYL®) made from rescued waste.

COOTS LONDON

ZONE3 YULEX (6 x £110/£155)

We have 6 cutting edge Yulex suits from Zone3 to give away. Yulex®  natural rubber is creating an environmentally friendly wetsuit revolution – reducing CO2 emissions by up to 80%. These suits are 1.5mm thickness means they provide core warmth, whilst allowing great freedom of movement – great for breaststroke.

ZONE3 YULEX 

ORCA Accessories (7 x £129)

Orca make some of the favourite accessories of the OSS team – and they’re offering 7 awesome kit bundles, comprising of their ever popular Kila 180 goggles, a pair of Neoprene gloves, neoprene boots and neoprene cap to keep you warm and swimming through the winter.

ORCA

DART10K TICKETS (2 pairs at £240)

The Dart10k is the first, and arguably the finest, marathon-distance swim in the UK.  Level Water are offering two pairs of tickets for the Sunday swim – so you can experience this event which perfectly captures the essence and ethos of the wild swimming community, combining a big-swim challenge with a journey and atmosphere like no other.

DART10K

2024 CALENDARS (5 x £30)

“My love of swimming and photography have become one”, internationally renowned photographer, and OSS contributor, Niall Meehan is offering 5x of his beautiful 2024 calendars – A3 size and featuring his amazing Irish Sea outdoor swim photos –  12 images telling the story of a year in the sea.

2024 CALENDARS from NIALL MEEHAN

sea studio calendar 2024 cover page

THE OUTDOOR SWIMMERS’ HANDBOOK (5 x £19)

Where will 2024 take you? We have five copies of the ultimate outdoor swimming handbook to give away, an ‘important, inspiring book’ which 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.  An absolute must of a read for ‘the genuine joy of aquatic adventures of all sorts’.

THE OUTDOOR SWIMMERS’ HANDBOOK by KATE REW

OSS BIG TEA MUG BUNDLE (10 x £12)

We have 10 Big Tea Mug bundles to give away from the OSS shop. These limited edition mugs were designed by artist Nick Hayes in support of The OSS and Right to Roam’s campaign for greater access to inland water. And for Christmas, come with a GO SWIMMING sticker, tea bag and cherry bakewell bar. Yum.

OSS SHOP

swim free mug with go swimming sticker, outdoor provisions bar and individual tea bag

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.
  • We are offering one free entry into the prize draw via postcard. Send your name, address and email to The Outdoor Swimming Society [mailbox details removed as the prize draw is 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 raffle 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
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The OSS Team