"Astia nu se lasa nici iarna.....!"

Issue: 41 FEBRUARY 2011
OPEN WATER CALENDAR February 2011 Czech Republic, Prague, Saturday, 12 February,2011 FINA OWS - Argentina Sunday, 13 February, 2011 Finnish Winter Swimming Championships, Joensuu, Fri, 18-Sunday, 20 February, Rottnest Channel Swim Sunday, 20 February, 2011	SWIMTREK FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER Dear Mircea, Welcome to the February issue of the SwimTrek newsletter, once more filled with news about open water swimming and the latest goings on at SwimTrek. We're passionate about open water, so why not join us on any of our 20 different locations around the world. We've got some of the most experienced guides around and we've got 9 years of experience in making your trip truly memorable. We look forward to seeing you this summer. COME ON IN, THE WATER'S LOVELY.... The SwimTrek Team www.swimtrek.com
GO AT YOUR OWN SPEED: SWIFT & SCENIC TRIPS Following feedback from a number of SwimTrek clients, we are very excited to announce the introduction of our new speed trips on some selected locations. Swift Tours are reserved for those who want to swim at a faster pace than our regular trips. Less hanging around and more swimming makes it a winner! Scenic Tours are reserved for those of you who want to swim at a more leisurely pace than our normal trips and share the experience with people of similar speeds! Both trip types still cover the same swims and the same distances as our regular trips. Click here for further details on these trips.. Departure dates for these trips are limited for 2011. Featured locations include Turkey, Croatia, Sardinia and the Lake District. Look for the "Swift" & "Scenic" symbols on the availability page to find appropriate departures. Visit www.swimtrek.com for latest availability. POLAR BEAR SETS RECORD SWIM, BUT AT WHAT COST? American scientists working in the Arctic have recorded what they believe is the longest swim by a polar bear. They fitted a female bear with a radio collar and then tracked her as she swam, non-stop, for nine days. She covered nearly 700 kilometres northwards from Alaska in icy waters, and then walked a further 1,600 kilometres. The scientists say that as global warming causes more sea-ice to melt, polar bears have to swim greater distances in search of food. Click here for further information... NEW MAGAZINE FOR OPEN WATER SWIMMERS H2OPEN Magazine is a new publication for anyone who loves open water swimming whether you are a beginner or an experienced veteran, taking on a long-distance challenge, doing your first mass participation race or simply looking for a beautiful place to take a dip featuring articles by SwimTrek's founder, Simon Murie and a host of other contributors from the open water swimming scene. As well as regular features on training, nutrition, iconic swim locations, classic swims and the latest training and racing gear we will print race listings, news and interviews with open water swimming heroes starting with Keri-Anne Payne. Launch date: 11 February 2011 Cover price: £3.50 Subscriptions: www.escosubs.co.uk/h2open Web: www.h2openmagazine.com PATAGONIA EXTREME COLD WATER SWIM CHALLENGE Five South African men are in search of new extreme swims. They are headed to do three extremely cold-water swims in a short time frame: the Beagle Channel, the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn. Ryan Stramrood, Kieron Palframan, Toks Viviers, Ram Barkai and Andrew Chin, who have proven themselves from Alaska to Antarctica, were inspired by Lynne Cox's book, Swimming to Antarctica. Excruciatingly painful and certifiably crazy, the 5 men will attempt 3 ice-channel swims in 2 weeks in a series they are calling the Patagonia Extreme Cold Swim Challenge. Next month, the swimmers from Cape Town will warm up to an unprecedented mile swim around Cape Horn - the southernmost part of South America - in a risky ocean swim where the temperature is expected to be between 3°C to 6°C. They will then swim across the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel - all within ten days. Celebrate the Royal Wedding with Sun, Style & Great Technique On April 29th 2011, Prince William and his fiancée are due to marry. For those of you not invited to the nuptials, we are pleased to be hosting a one off trip to Gozo over that weekend. The tour runs from April 29th until May 5th and as both the Friday and Monday are public holidays in the UK, you would only need to take 3 days off work to join this week long tour! For more information and to book this tour, please click here. SWIM FOR HEROES - 2SWIM4LIFE 2011 On the 30th April 2011 a tough 24 hour swimming challenge is to be held in Guildford Lido, Surrey, UK in aid of the Help for Heroes Charity. The challenge is to swim a mile on the hour for 24 hours, with all proceeds raised from the swim being donated to Help for Heroes. If you would like to join in this exciting event, please visit http://www.2swim4life.com for more details.
WE TAKE THE PLUNGE AT THE UK COLD WATER SWIMMING CHAMPS! January saw the 5th Uk Cold Water Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido, South London and 350 people braved the chilly waters. SwimTrek entered a relay team dressed as Pierrot clowns and some of the guides valiantly took part in individual races, good use was made of the sauna and hot tub! We also ran a competition to win a free short break on one of our UK tours. Congratulations go to our winner Miriam from London, who takes the prize. Thanks to everyone that entered and who came to say hello to us on the stall during the day, hope to see you at an event soon! 'CRAZIEST SWIMTREKKERS' COMPETITION Here's a chance for you to share your brilliant photographs from your holiday with the rest of us and possibly win a fantastic prize! Every month, three photographs will be chosen out of those sent to us and will be featured in the newsletter. Then, at our annual year-end party, one of these featured photographs will be chosen as our grand winner and each person in the winning group will get a prize! If you think you have the winning photograph, please send them to us at miaarussell@gmail.com, including your name, the location and the date of the tour that the photograph was taken.
JOIN THE SWIMTREK TEAM! We are looking for swimming guides who can work on our open water swimming tours preferably for the 2011 May to November season. You will need to be an experienced open water swimmer and have the ability to assist with the planning and running of all arrangements throughout the duration of the tour. You will be required to obtain a beach lifeguard, first aid at work, food hygiene and powerboat qualification and a swim teaching/coaching qualification would be an advantage. A flexible, responsible and dynamic attitude combined with an outgoing personality are qualities ideally suited to this position. We would also prefer you to have either dual EU nationality or the appropriate immigration documentation to allow you to work in the EU. We are also seeking guides who can speak Italian with the appropriate experience to work (but not exclusively) on our Sardinia tour. If you are interested in these positions, please e-mail your swimming related CV to:- employment@swimtrek.com If you have any questions or want to get in touch with us, feel free to send an email to info@swimtrek.com. Sincerely, The SwimTrek Team www.SwimTrek.com