Saturday

From 5pm- Swimmer arrival
Try to arrive on time and with your team – we can’t guarantee you a space, so get there early (but not before 5pm!) to bag a good spot and give yourself time to set up. Your first swimmer must have registered by 6:00pm. Please do not arrive before 5pm, as usual swimming will be taking place at the lido.

6:30pm - All swimmer briefing with first swimmer ready to swim.

7pm - First swimmer enters the water. And so it begins.

Sunday

7am - Last swimmer exits the water. And so it ends.

Jesus Green Lido

Chesterton Rd, Cambridge CB4 3AX

Aim to get to the venue no later than 6pm.

We love the planet - please try and car share or walk where you can! There is no specific car park but plenty of on-street parking available in the area.

The best place to find a car sharing buddy is to post it in the events Facebook page.

When you arrive, please head to the registration desk to register.

You can only register yourself so everyone in your team will need to register with us on arrival.

You’ll be given a swimming hat you must wear while swimming and one wristband per team.

The wristband is to be worn by the person swimming and no one else. You’ll swap it over every hour.

One of the things we love most about Jesus Green is how small, friendly, and intimate it is. This does mean though that space is limited, so to keep things fair please note the following;

• Each team can bring one two-person tent. That’s your home for the night – snug, simple, and perhaps just enough room for some snacks too.

• Please don’t bring any gazebos, big shelters or extra set-ups – as lovely as they might be, they take up valuable space that other swimmers will need. If we see any, we’ll have to ask you (very nicely!) to take them down.

• The floodlights will be on all night, which is great for safety but not so great for beauty sleep…so if you’re hoping for a bit of rest, we highly recommend bringing an eye mask. Maybe earplugs too – just in case your teammate snores.

The 12 hours is split into hourly stints.

It’ll run a little bit like this:

1. The first swimmer will enter the water at 7pm.

2. At 7:55pm, we will stop swimmers starting a new lap and you’ll exit the water.

3. When you get to land, find your team mate and give them your swimmer’s wrist band (Which we’ll give one per team at registration)

4. Your next swimmer will start their hour!

5. Repeat for the next 11 hours.

So, just make sure your next swimmer is ready and at the water entry point at 50 minutes past the hour, every hour and you’ll be golden.

If any of your swimmers prefer to swim for less than an hour, that’s absolutely fine. They can simply exit the water and pass their wristband to the next swimmer.

You will be allowed to swim for more than one hour at a time, but we ask you to pop out and back in again on the hour for safety reasons.

If someone in your team is injured and pulls out prior to the event, please let us know their name so we can remove them from the list. New members can join by registering through the website. Team members can join you later in the day but they must register beforehand and read the briefing when they arrive. Please try and have most of your team arrive no later than 6pm, ready for the briefing at 6:30pm.

This is the strictest we’ll be all weekend – but it’s an important one:
Absolutely no open fires anywhere on site please. Camping-sized gas stoves are allowed if you’re planning a midnight cuppa or early porridge – just please don’t use them inside tents, and always keep a close eye on them when they’re on the go.

Because this event is at a lido, there are flood lights on site which will light up the pool, and the area around the pool. This means we do not need you to bring any extra lights for your swimming.

We’re trying to run this event with as little waste as possible which means we will not be providing food or drink. Please bring your own food and drink for the duration and take away all your rubbish at the end. We’ll have a couple of hot water urns for you to freely use, but please bring your own mug.

Personally, we’d bring a few of those boil in the bag packets that just need hot water. And flapjacks. Always flapjacks.

The pool will be lit up by the flood lights on site, so it wont feel too dark. There will be lifeguards covering the lido.

If you want to swim in skins at night, please fill in the skins swimmer form. Please bring a wetsuit with you as backup.

Swimming at night for long periods is very different to swimming during the day and you will get much colder.

Let’s be honest, this is likely. And there’s very little we can do about it. We want you to feel part of nature this weekend so if it rains a lot be prepared to hide in tents and under umbrellas.

If things get a bit wild (high winds, heavy rain or thunderstorms), we may have to suspend swimming. If this happens, we'll make a call on the day, and our decision is final. We'll do our best to keep you informed, safe and smiling - come rain or shine!

We will be using the ‘leave-no-trace’ mantra for all our sites so please take your rubbish and recycling home with you. There won’t be enough bins for us all so please do your bit and take it home.

Please be considerate when hanging out near the camping area, it goes without saying that some swimmers may be having a little snooze and any lights or noise could be detrimental to their slumber. We will be doing our best to keep music and lights to a minimum while we swim through the night.

We will have a medical team on standby at all times so PLEASE tell them if you are at all concerned about your health or feel strange at any time. Our volunteers can point you in the right direction and we promise to cover you with blankets and cuddles if you feel cold. Keeping everyone safe is our top-priority in, and out of the water.

Also, learn how to identify coldness in others. Are they quieter than usual, or more tired. If you have any concerns speak to them and the medical team immediately.