On Saturday 16 September, Uswim, a local open water swimming company, organised the annual Neon Swim at Salford Quays, Dock 9. The Neon Swim is an end of summer season celebration, where swimmers of all ages and abilities come together, cover themselves in neon paint and glowsticks, for a non-competitive night swim.
Uswim’s regular sessions (Wednesdays and Saturdays) often boast 100-200 participants, sometimes even as many as 800 – so, a celebration was in order, and the Neon Swim delivered.
The bright orange, neon-painted face of Dave Quartermain, Uswim’s enthusiastic founder and CEO, was greeting all participants warmly. He was stood beneath the Uswim tent, which contained neon lights and a speaker system playing music – establishing a great mood from the outset.
Uswim regular, Victoria Clayton, was donning a disco ball helmet, equipped with flashing light. Victoria is a keen swimmer, who has been open water swimming for more than seven years. She even has a wooden barrel in her garden, known as ‘Beryl the Barrel’, which can get down to less than 3° in winter.
Victoria explained why she loves cold water swimming so much, stating that it has provided her with amazing “social and mental health benefits”.
She said: “The Neon Swim is my idea of the best night out, because I’m not a drinker. The atmosphere here is fantastic, and I can be home for a nice cup of tea and get in bed.”
Sisters, Rebecca (14) and Hannah (11), some of the youngest at the event, had come down with their dad Ian. They started open water swimming this year and have been to The Quays around 10 times this summer.
Ian said: “It’s been really good fun… everyone’s doing their own thing, it’s a really nice atmosphere. Some people are charging round, some people are chatting – it’s dead nice really.”
Something that made the event particularly approachable, was this range of abilities. Despite some participants being competitive swimmers who had swum the channel, others were there for a more leisurely breaststroke pace.
Dock 9 was set up so that there was a 500m loop round the course – with participants completing either one lap (500m), three laps (1.5km), or six laps (3km). The water temperature that evening was 200c.
Once back on dry land, participants were greeted with the smiling staff’s congratulations, a medal, and a warm Vimto.
If you would like to get involved with any Uswim events, they hold regular swims on Wednesdays 5:30-7:30pm and Saturdays 8-11am, until the end of the month.
Uswim are also set to host both the Greater Manchester Swim and the MediaCityUK Swim Challenge next year.
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