Although the Challenge can be bought from 1 October 2026, it officially runs from 1st November 2026 to 31 March 2027, which is when you'll need to track your dips. 

We may stop purchases of the Challenge around 6 weeks before the end date, to give time for us to calculate the final number of patches to order.

For us, patches have to be ordered around 4-6 weeks in advance, and as we're not quite sure of how many sign ups to expect this year, we've only made a small order of patches to start with. We'll send these first batch ones out, along with your badge, as soon as possible.

But if we sell out of the initial order of patches, you may be waiting a little longer for your patch and badge (around six weeks).

Rest assured, you will receive your patch and badge in time for the end of the Challenge on 31 March 2027, so you can celebrate your achievement!

Yes! We're offering 25% off any additional Challenges you buy as part of the same order! 

Please bear in mind though that the emails, patches, and badges will all be sent to you, and you'll need to make sure you pass them onto your fellow Bluetits.

You can use our handy tracking sheet to help you keep a log of your dips, but it's completely optional, and you can use whatever works best for you!

At the end of the Challenge we'll be sending an email out to the purchaser giving you the option to log with HQ the number of dips you've completed, but this is also optional!

You can download and print a copy of the tracking sheet here.

If you don't reach your number of dips, you still get your badge, patch and certificate! This is all for fun, to help support The Bluetit community, and to help motivate you to keep swimming over the winter months. So well done for setting yourself a goal, even if you don't reach it!

For this challenge, just getting in the water counts as a dip. The challenge is just for fun and to keep us all motivated to dip throughout the winter. You can swim in any body of water, for however long, and whatever distance; it's the getting in that counts.

Unfortunately, last year's change in Challenge format and patch style wasn't as popular as we were hoping, and we didn't get as many sign ups as usual (but massive thank you to everyone who did!). 

We've decided this year to go back to basics and the tried-and-tested format, which we hope will encourage more Bluetits to sign up, and in turn, support the Bluetit community!

Yes! After lots of feedback over the previous years, we've added the dip numbers to the pin badge, not just the challenge name (Chilly, Frosty, Snowy, Icy). So you can now proudly show how many dips you set out to achieve!

Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside our control, we're not able to ship from the UK to either the EU or the US. We're really sorry you won't be able to buy our Winter Challenge, but we hope you're still able to find a way to motivate you to get in the water! 

Although you wouldn't get the patch and badge, you could also download the tracking sheet here, and consider a small one-off donation to The Bluetits to help support the community.

For any of our International Bluetits who are still able to buy the Challenge, please be aware of any Customs Tax that may be due on your packages.

Yes, but as you can tell this Challenge is Winter themed! You may want to take a look at our other challenges to see if they're more suitable.