The world may be falling apart, but the Lake Memphremagog Winter Swim went as scheduled last weekend in Newport, VT. Things started off on a sunny Saturday morning with temperatures in the single numbers and wrapped up Sunday. Swimmers also wrapped up immediately after their dips and were escorted to and from the water individually, and carefully watched in the water by volunteers with rescue equipment. There was a hat contest, and 25-, 50- and 100-meter races and relays in the two-lane 25-meter hole cut in the ice and kept ice free by bubblers before the race and volunteers wielding ice skimmers after things started. Participants came from around the East and elsewhere, including Canada and Alaska, but it’s hard to say whether those from farther north had an advantage. As someone observed: no matter what the air temperature, the water’s always about 34 degrees F. No problem! The event is part of the Kingdom Games series. Click here for a freezing, wet gallery.
