Jarkko Enqvist.
The competition is scheduled for February 10 and 11, and this year the winter swimmers will compete at the Kurjoviken Sea Marina in Skelleftehamn.
In previous years, the competition was conducted in the Skellefte river in central Skellefteå.
The Winter Swim in Skellefteå is organized by the association "Mörkrets och Kylans Glada Vänner" (The Happy Friends of Darkness and Cold). The event has grown and is known locally, nationally, and internationally, and the competition in Skellefteå usually attracts participants from many countries.
Jarkko Enqvist says in a press release that the competition usually attracts about 400 competitors from about 20 nations, as well as thousands of spectators.
When Norran contacted him, he said the association was hoping for more participants next year.
One challenge is the logistics of transporting competitors and the public to and from Skellefteå, but there is a plan for that.
– There are regular local buses every half hour with a stop only 200 meters from the competition arena, and we plan to supplement this with shuttle buses that run directly from the hotels to the sea marina, says Enqvist.
Winter Swim 2023.
A major advantage of the move is that it now allows for a significant expansion in the number of events and their spread over two days of competition.
– We have the opportunity to run long-distance races of 200 meters, which will attract more international swimmers, says Kalle Viklund in the press release, who is also a project leader for the competition.
