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Come along to the Alhambra for a delightful afternoon mixing with those who have joined the outdoor swimming revolution, and find out a bit more about it!

Join the premiere screenings of: Under the Surface, a documentary film that follows swimmer Jim Read, exploring acceptance after injury, men’s mental health, and what it means to be vulnerable as a man in the outdoor endurance swimming world, hosted by cold water swimmer Becca Harvey (25 mins) advisory content warning: discussions of suicide, addiction

SOuP, a film exploring access rights and the cold water swim community based in the Peak District (8 mins), and Turning the Tide, a short film documenting the start of Julia Mansi’s journey into swimming (6 mins)

After our screenings we’ll be hosting a free-to-enter raffle full of water-related prizes, and a Q+A with swimmers Jim Read, Stephen Gould, Simon Hagger and the Lake District locals The Blue Mind Men, talking about men’s mental health, swim community and sustainability in the sport. 

Host: Becca Harvey

Speakers: Jim Read, Simon Hagger, Stephen Gould and The Blue Mind Men

Filmmakers: Rachel Sarah, Sam Walker, Ted Simpson 

Supported by Alpkit
Additional thanks to The Crafty Baa, Conquer The Lakes, Safe Sea, and the Kirkstyle Inn

Under the Surface

(advisory content warning: discussions of suicide, addiction)

Under the Surface is a documentary film that explores acceptance after injury, men’s mental health, and what it means to be vulnerable as a man in the outdoor endurance swimming world.   We go back to the time before Jim found swimming, where he broke his back in a work-related accident. We are taken through Jim’s experiences with addiction to pain medication, his loss of his long-term relationship, and through the reality of recovering from an injury. Jim finds solace and rehabilitation in endurance swimming, learning to walk again through his swimming, and starting to build a new career as a swim coach in the process.

Turning the Tide

A film by Ted Simpson 

Black people can’t swim… This is a statement that Julia Mansi, a 30 year old black woman, has believed for almost her entire life – until now. This is Julia Mansi, Turning The Tide.

SOuP

A film by Sam Walker

No lake or river is too remote. No water is too icy. It looks like wild swimming might be here to stay after enjoying a boom in popularity over the last year or two. Its main proponents tout benefits from reduced anxiety to improved cardiovascular health, but for many it's just a good excuse to get outdoors and enjoy the inarguably revitalising properties of an icy dip.

One group that seems to completely embody the spirit behind the sport’s surge in interest is SOuP (Sheffield Outdoor Plungers). Started by Owen Hayman a few years ago as a means to make friends after moving to Sheffield from Swansee, the SOuP Facebook group now boasts over 12,000 members who regularly meet up, swap the best swimming spots, and have a post-swim chat over cake and a well-earned mug of hot tea.

In this short film, we catch up with Owen and some of the members of SOuP to find out about the group and why it’s so important to them.