Memphremagog Winter Swimming Society

08/05/2026

07/20/2026

And, just like that all of our autographed books are gone. Pam Ladds, Martha LaRiviere, Jennifer Nadeau, Jenny Bolton, Paula Daniels Kany, Brian Barnes, Ben Bryant, Rebecca Thompson, Sandra Tooley, and Katie Wright will all be getting autographed copies of The Plunge by Chris Ballard. TOTALLY COLD!

07/18/2026

And, just like that, a third Mainer, Jenny Bolton. has registered for the 2027 Festival and will be receiving an autographed copy of The Plunge, by Chris Ballard. We gave one of our ten copies to Ben Bryant, after his inspiring 24.7 mile swim on Lake Memphremagog, In Search of Memphre. That leaves 6 more copies for the next 6 registrants. Shout out to Chris Ballard. Sign up now and you'll get a free copy of your own book.

07/18/2026

Congratulations to Jennifer Nadeau and Martha LaRiviere, both of Maine, for being the first two in July to sign up for the Winter Swimming Festival in 2027. They earn two autographed copies of The Plunge by Chris Ballard. Next seven to register also get a free autographed copy of The Plunge.

02/28/2026

This past weekend, three pool records were set in the 50, 100, and 200 Meter Free, all by Markus Rogan, of Los Angeles, the unheralded Olympic Silver Medalist among us for the weekend. In the 100 and 200 Meter Free Markus broke the records set by Stephen Rouch in 2024 by a couple of seconds. In the 50 Meter Free he broke the record set by Canadian. Craig Ross in 2018 by half a second. Stephen still holds his pool records as a Non-Binary competitor. Speedy Craig Ross still holds his pool records in the 25 Meter Free and Fly, but the overall pool record belongs to Markus in these three events ..... pending judicial review of his flip turns. Congratulations and thanks for joining our Low Society. You, your family, and your Octo buddy, Michael, seem to fit right in.

Speaking of records, Michael Donaldson of Los Angeles now holds the record for the most "mature" among us at 86, along with Awesome Octo Ginny Peck at 80 among the women. while Margaret Rivard holds the record for the youngest to swim at The Festival, which she did when she was 11 in 2019. She's also the youngest to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which she did when she was 16 years old.

02/27/2026

The Mystic Merfolk won a collective Skallywag of the Year Award - Some Antique Ice Tongs. Their acceptance song left some in tears.

Below are the words and a link to their PERFORMANCE.

Memphremagog (Mama Mia)

I've been waiting to swim since I don't know when
So I made up my mind, I must come back again,
Look at me now, will I ever learn?
I don’t know why, but I suddenly have to swim,
There's an iceberg within my soul!

[Pre-Chorus]
On the ice, and I forget everything
On your mark! and I hear the start ring, woah uhoh!
[Chorus]
Memphremagog, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Memphremagog, here you are again
My my, just how much I've missed you!

Yes, I am fricking freezing
Blue skin and teeth chattering,
But, why, why did I ever let you go?
Memphremagog, now I really know
My my, I could never let you go

[Verse 2]
Back in Northern Vermont, where it’s totally cold
But our hea-rts are warm, and the friendships are bold
And when we go, when we leave this place
I think you know, that we won't be away too long.
Baby, we are that strong!

[Pre-Chorus/Chorus]
On the ice, and we forget everything
On your mark! and we hear the start ring, woah uhoh!
[Memphremagog, here we go again
My my, how could we resist you?]
Memphremagog, here we are again
My my, we could never let you go!

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