Create your own chilly challenge and face the freeze.
Explore our inspiration wall and we’ll send you ideas of how to complete your own Icebreaker challenge from groups dips to solo showers. Let your creativity flow and do it your own way, wherever you are.
Lots of our supporters choose to get involved in January to kick off the new year, but you can join in from anywhere, at any time up until the end of February 2025.
Set up your Justgiving page and start fundraising now
If you haven't already, set up your online fundraising page on Justgiving.
Once you raise your first £15, you can claim a free swim hat or t-shirt.
Choose your chilly challengeYou can find some of our favourite ideas here or click the images below for inspiration.
Tell your friends, family and community groups and dip together.
Always choose a safe and accessible location and don’t go alone.
Please ensure you read the safety guidance before starting your challenge.
- Louise, part of the January Daily Dippers
Click the images below to read more about our inspirational icebreakers and different ways to get involved. We'll be updating this throughout so please email swim@crisis.org.uk with your plans and pictures to be featured.
Please read our cold water tips and safety guidance before participating in Crisis Icebreaker.
Please read our cold-water tips and safety guidance before participating in the Crisis Icebreaker.
General health and safety advice for cold-water swimming
Cold-water tips:
Safety advice for DIY Icebreaker
Useful links:
Open Water Swimming Society
A temperature guide
“After drop”: a guide to warming up
How to acclimatise to cold water
Festive dos and don’ts
RNLI
could give someone an hour of one-to-one support and coaching with one of our lead workers; helping them develop skills to find, secure, and maintain a home or a job.
could help eight people with gas or electricity costs when they're setting up their new home or struggling to make their bills.
could prevent someone from sleeping rough by paying for emergency accommodation while we support them to find permanent housing.
could go towards mugs, pans, cutlery and bedding to help ten people set up a new home of their own.
Yes, absolutely! We think it’s a great idea to sign up and take part as a group with ready-made moral support.
However, each person will need to sign up and register individually to receive emails and information from us. If you are coordinating a larger group and wish to have one person as the point of contact, please contact swim@crisis.org.uk.
Your safety is your responsibility so please choose a safe and accessible location for your challenge. Always go with a buddy, and let some one know your plans.
We have collated cold water swim tips and safety advice for you to read before attempting any cold water swimming/ challenge.
Remember to take warm clothes and we always recommend a warm flask of tea for afterwards.
You are responsible for your own safety when taking part in an Icebreaker challenge.
Please do not attempt this challenge in open water if you are not a confident swimmer. If you do not feel confident enough in your ability, why not try a challenge which would not require swimming, like an icy bath or cold shower at home?
If you're taking part in the Icebreaker Challenge, you can opt to receive a Crisis swim hat once you have started fundraising and raised £15. Claim yours here or contact us at swim@crisis.org.uk if your group needs multiple! Information on claiming your hat will also be emailed to you.
If you would prefer to wear a Crisis t-shirt instead of a swim hat, let us know.
We’re encourage all Icebreakers to raise £150. You can set your target higher if you feel confident in raising more and set up group target if taking part together.
We’ll send you tips to boost your fundraising and you can contact us at swim@crisis.org.uk for guidance on reaching your target.
JustGiving will automatically transfer the money you raise to us.
If you have fundraised 'offline' (collected cash or bank transfers) you can pay it in via BACS. Please email us at swim@crisis.org.uk if you wish to do this, so we can provide details and a unique reference number. You can also add the money raised offline to your JustGiving page total - find out more here.
It is Crisis policy not to accept cash so if you have collected in this way, please pay it into a bank account and transfer online, as above.
We’d love to see photos of your Crisis Icebreaker challenges, and add them to the inspiration board on the website, so please share them with us!
You can share them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #CrisisIcebreaker, or by email to swim@crisis.org.uk.
We're happy to help with all aspects of fundraising! If you would like to order materials, or download digital resources, you can do so here.
Our DIY challenge is free to enter and a great option for everyone, as there are a number of ways to feel the freeze such as having an icy cold shower, dipping feet into a bucket of ice or finding a safe place where you can safely access the water.
Please reach out to us at swim@crisis.org.uk if you require extra support to take part in the Crisis Icebreaker or would like specific information on taking part.
