Despite the less than favourable weather last weekend, hundreds of kids and adults still turned up to the camp ground on Saturday to enjoy the ‘Snow on the Beach’ and take a mid winter dip in the water.
With four more tonnes of snow than last year’s event and the cold weather keeping the snow nice and icy, the Snow on the Beach and Mid Winter Swim saw 250 to 300 people head to Te Kopua Domain to enjoy the winter festivities throughout the day.
With the cold southerly blowing, the organising team had to make a few adjustments but the day still went on as planned with kids getting plenty of snow time.
“Weather was always going to be an issue but it didn’t seem to stop the kids from having fun,” said Raglan Community House’s Tony Agar.
Now in it’s eleventh year running the Ray White Mid Winter Swim is almost a tradition for some. While the blustery weather meant there wasn’t a huge turn out for the swim, twelve very enthusiastic competitors dove into the icy waters to race their way to the finish line.
NZ Masters Games swimming champion Peter Aim was first across the line, the 61 year old proving that age is no barrier, even when it comes to swimming in less than ideal water temperatures.
Dave Hanna presented Peter with a bottle of bubbly for his win in this year’s swim. Well done to all that entered and braved the arctic waters!
The Mid Winter Swim and Snow on the Beach is a community event that is kindly put on by the Raglan Community House and Raglan Real Estate Ray White.
Thanks also to support from the Waikato District Council and Raglan Lions Club, Raglan Supervalue for the hot drinks and lollies for the lolly scramble, Te Kopua Campground providing kitchen facilities and the Maori Wardens for providing their usual fantastic services with parking and traffic control.
