Outdoor Swimming Society
The Outdoor Swimming Society (OSS) is a company that was set up in 2006 in the United Kingdom by Kate Rew, author of Wild Swim.[1]
The OSS website has information about wild swimming safety and access in the United Kingdom. The OSS aims to encourage people to rediscover the joys of swimming in open, wild water - rivers, lakes, lochs, tarns, ponds, seas.
In 2009, the OSS announced that it was founding a Wild Swimmers' Code, similar in spirit to The Country Code, to encourage safe swimming in wild water. The OSS is engaged in campaigning to keep outdoor lidos and pools open, and to keep seas and rivers clean and swimmable. Members arrange regular meets around the country. Masterclasses with swim coaches are also held round the country.
In 2006/7, the OSS ran the Breaststrokes charity swims in Windermere and the Serpentine, which raised over £150,000 for Cancer Research. The OSS' patrons are the Olympic gold medallist Cassie Patten and the author Robert Macfarlane.
References
- Rew, Kate (2008). Wild Swim: River, Lake, Lido and Sea: The Best Places to Swim Outdoors in Britain. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-85265-093-6.