Ram Barkai, South Africa

Contributor/Swimmer Resume:

Founded the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) in July 2009.

·       Members in 63 countries

·       Ice Mile and Ice 1K swimmers from 32 countries

·       Organisers of rules, publicity, board, world championships, and more

As Chairperson, Ram recruited and managed an International board of ice swimmers/organisers and together put in place strong country organisations in the USA, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, and others. The website is professional, and swimmers are proud to have their results listed. The “Ice Mile” brand is the strongest brand in the sport and swimmers proudly wear their red jackets. Finally, IISA have continued to improve the safety standards in the sport.

Ram was the organiser and race director for the IISA South Africa Championships in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 and the IISA South Africa Ice Swimming Championships in 2013,

2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, organizing and recruiting swimmers for these

events. Approximately 15 to 20 swimmers were involved, helping to propel South Africa to third place on the global chart for Ice Milers at a site in Lesotho, the landlocked tribal kingdom in the mountains that provide the only possible <5C waters in the country.

Ram is also responsible for the following notable events:

·       2010: World‐first Ice Mile event with Ice mile swimmers—Water temp 5C, featured on SuperSport SA

·       2011: 20 short‐distance swimmers, 13 Ice mile swimmers—Water temp 5C, featured on SuperSport SA

·       2012: 15 short distance swimmers, 10 Ice mile swimmers—Water temp 1.7C, featured on SuperSport SA

·       2014: Organized Antarctica trip, 6 South African swimmers—Water temp ‐1C, distances varied from 1K to 1 mile and featured in many media outlets

2015: First 1K Ice swimming event, 20 swimmers

·       2016: South Africa Ice Swimming Championships, 1K at 3000m altitude, 14 swimmers— Water temp 4C, featured on CNN

·       2018: South Africa Ice Swimming Championships, 1K at 3000m altitude, 15 swimmers— Water temp 3C, featured on SuperSport SA

As the leading ambassador/evangelist for the sport, Ram has travelled internationally more than 20 times spreading the word about the sport (and always getting in a swim). These trips included: WOWSA conferences in Los Angeles, New York and Scotland; Chill Swim; IWSA World Championships in Finland and Estonia, and IISA events in Ireland, UK, China, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Lesotho, and France.

Media

IISA marketing professionalism has helped inspire extensive and positive coverage of the sport including:

·       Discovery Channel – Ice Swimming

·       History Channel – Ice Swimming

·       CNN Big Story

·       BBC

·       NBC

·       Al Jazeera

·       Malaysia FM

·       Hong Kong TV

·       Xtreme Magazine

·       And others

Ice Swimming Resume

In addition to founding and running the IISA, Ram Barkai has also been a prolific participant and pioneer of the sport, helping set the pace for ice swimmers around the world.

Certified Ice Miles

1.      31 Jan 2009: Lake Zurich, Switzerland, Water temp 4.00 C, 1.43 miles, 43:00

2.      17 July 2010: Fraserburg, RSA, Water temp 4.50 C, 1.00 mile, 33:00

3.      23 July 2011: Fraserburg, RSA, Water temp 5.00 C, 1.00 mile, 28:59

4.      4 Jan 2012: Loch Fiskaley, Scotland, Water temp 2.00 C, 1.00 mile, 28:03

5.      15 July 2012L Fraserburg, RSA, Water temp 1.70 C, 1.00 mile, 31:33

6.      31 Jan 2013: Lake Holborough, Kent, UK, Water temp 3.5 C, 1.00 mile, 31:14

7.      23 Mar 2013: Murmansk, Russia Water temp 0.00 C, 1.00 mile, 32:43

8.      31 Dec 2014: Vltava River, Branik, Prague, Water temp 4.6 C, 1.03 mile, 30:00

9.      31 Dec 2015: Aukreyri, Iceland, Water temp 4.63 C, 1.00 mile, 32:18

10.  12 Jun 2017: Lake Baikal, Russia, Water temp 4.70 C, 1.00 mile, 31:45

11.  22 Jun 2017, Svalbard, Arctic Sea, Water temp 4.61 C, 1.03 mile, 28:16

Recorded IK Races – Podium Finishes

1.      11 Jan 2015: 1st Aqua Sphere Ice Swimming German Open, Lake Woehrsee, Burghausen, Germany, Water temp 4.80 C, 17:20:00

2.      20 Mar 2015: IISA 1st World Championship, Lake Semenovskoye, Murmansk, Russia, Water temp 0.08 C, 16:39:00

3.      19 Dec 2015: River Labe CZ Ice Swim 2015, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Water temp 4.70 C, 17:59:00

4.      10 Jan 2016, 2. Aqua Sphere Ice Swimming German Open, Lake Woehrsee, Burghausen, Germany, Water temp 3.90 C, 17:28:00

5.      23 Jan 2016, Polish Championships – Ice Swimming IISA 1KM, Katowice, Poland, Water temp 2.00 C, 16:55:00

6.      30 Jan 2016: International Ice Swimming Association Ireland 1K National Championships, Wild Water Armagh, Ireland, Water temp 4.50 C, 16:53:00

7.      7 Aug 2016, IISA SA 2016 Championships, Afriski Resort, Lesotho, South Africa, Water temp 4.5 C, 25:48:00

8.      6 Jan 2017, 3. Aqua Sphere Ice Swimming German Open, Lake Woehrsee, Burghausen, Germany, Water temp 3.40 C, 16:58:85

9.      11 Feb 2017, Ice Cup and GB Ice Swimming, The Cruin, Loch Lomand, Scotland, Water temp 4.20 C, 22:08:00

10.   8 Jun 2017, Russia 2017 Baikal Mile, Lake Baikal, Russian Federation, Water temp 4.60 C, 18:58:43

11.   7 Jan 2018, Ice swimming German Open, Vietsbronn, Germany, Water temp 3.80 C, 17:36:30

12.   25 Feb 2018, IISA GB Championships, Hatfield Outdoor Activity Centre, UK, Water temp 3.60 C, 16:13:44

Certified Ice 7

Four swims completed, three to go

First Ever Epic Swims

·       Antarctica 2008 1K in 0C – Current Guinness World Record for southern‐most Ice Swim

·       Third person to ever swim in Antarctica (after Lynne Cox and Lewis Pugh)

·       Second person to swim 2.3K in 2009 Lake Zurich at 4 C

·       Part of Bering Strait Relay

Other Special Swims or Conditions

·       Tyumen 1K at 0 C with air temp at ‐33 C

·       Swimming Magellan, Beagle and Cape Horn within 10 days