The Winter Swimming Clubs of Sydney

• Photographer
  David Gray
• Agency / Studio
  Reuters News Agency
• Technical Info
  Canon 6d
• Photo Date
  May 2016

Sydney, a city of sand, surf and bronzed lifesavers is less known for its fraternity of winter swimmers, who brave the colder temperatures to dive, nearly naked, into the ocean rock pools scattered around the iconic coastline.Clubs like the Clovelly Eskimo's, Coogee Penguin's, Maroubra Seals and Coogee Huskies hug the eastern shoreline every Sunday morning with the common catch phrase 'fun and friendship'.Over 5,000 swimmers compete weekly, observing the 'no wet suits' rule. The water temperatures in Sydney drop to about 15 Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) in August, meaning it's warmer in, than out.

After joining Reuters in 1995, I have covered news and sporting events in Asia and the South Pacific region. I have covered 9 Olympic Games, a total of 14 World Cup tournaments for soccer, cricket and rugby, numerous world athletics and swimming championships, and 24 Australian Open tennis tournaments. In 2003 I was appointed Reuters Chief Photographer Australia, until 2007 when I moved to Beijing, China as a Specialist Photographer. I moved back to Australia in 2013, and became a freelance photographer in 2019.