Nomination for the IISHOF Class of 2027
Christa Hesterman – The Netherlands
Preliminary Note
Christa Hesterman comes from a true swimming family. She is married to a swimmer, and her children also grew up with swimming as an important part of their lives. Christa herself practiced open water swimming for many years and played water polo.
Through Fergil Hesterman, she came into contact with ice swimming. Together, they attended the event celebrating 100 years of Murmansk in Russia. From that moment on, Christa has fully committed herself to the development and growth of ice swimming.
Nomination
The board of IISA Netherlands is pleased and honored to nominate Christa Hesterman from the Netherlands for the IISHOF Class of 2027, as a successful organizer and as an exceptional and dedicated contributor to the sport of ice swimming.
Over the past years, Christa has been committed to the development of the sport at both national and international levels. Her contribution includes, among other things, organizing major international competitions, supporting and guiding swimmers, building Team NL, and her years of service on the board of IISA Netherlands.
Organizer
After attending the 2017 World Championships, Fergil and Christa Hesterman decided to actively commit themselves to the growth of ice swimming in the Netherlands. By then, she had also become an IISA Level 1 and Level 2 Official, respectively.
One of the most important initiatives was the establishment and organization of the Amstel Ice Swim, later renamed the Amsterdam Ice Swim, in the centre of Amsterdam.
What started as a new event grew into one of the largest and one of the leading ice swimming events in the world. In 2022, the Amsterdam Ice Swim achieved third place in the WOWSA Top 100 Events and in 2024 was nominated for the WOWSA Open Water Swimming Event of the Year Awards.
The first edition was organized in 2017. In 2018, the event became part of the IISA World Cup Series for the first time. In the years that followed, the Amsterdam Ice Swim continued to grow into an internationally leading ice swimming event. After the World Cup Series was not organized for some time, the Amsterdam Ice Swim once again became part of the reintroduced IISA World Cup Series in 2025, and in 2026 the event was also on the World Cup calendar.
In addition to organizing the event itself, Christa leads a team of experienced ice swimmers, including participants and medallists at European and World Championships. This team guides new swimmers on a weekly basis and helps them become acquainted with the sport in a safe and responsible manner.
Contributor to the Sport
At the same time as the initiative for the Amsterdam Ice Swim, Christa founded IISA Netherlands together with Richard Broer and Fergil Hesterman.
Since its establishment, now already nine years ago, Christa has been active as secretary and vice-chair of IISA Netherlands. Partly thanks to her tremendous commitment, IISA Netherlands has grown into one of the best-organized national IISA divisions in the world. The organization is officially registered with the Chamber of Commerce.
Christa is an important point of contact for almost everything related to ice swimming. She is the go-to person for ice swimmers and organizations in the Netherlands, but also for swimmers and organizers from Europe and the rest of the world.
With her knowledge, experience, and great involvement, she advises and supports both new and experienced ice swimmers.
Since 2017, even before the official establishment of IISA Netherlands, Christa has handled registrations for Dutch swimmers. She ensures that swimmers have the correct qualifications, documents, and paperwork to participate in national and international competitions.
In 2017, Team NL travelled to the World Championships in Burghausen with only five swimmers, and in 2025 with twenty-five swimmers to the World Championships in Molveno. In 2019, Christa also handled all administrative preparations and visa applications for the six Dutch swimmers who participated on behalf of Team NL in Murmansk, Russia.
Since then, Team NL has grown significantly and now participates in European and World Championships and other international competitions.
Team Captain Team NL
Due to her years of experience with ice swimming and her extensive knowledge of the rules and international competition procedures, Christa has been the team captain of Team NL since 2017.
She fulfills this role with great commitment, enthusiasm, and responsibility. Both the board of IISA Netherlands and the Dutch swimmers are particularly happy and honored that Christa has taken on this role for so long.
As team captain, she is not only responsible for the practical and administrative matters surrounding international competitions, but she is also an important pillar of support for the swimmers. She ensures that everyone arrives at the start well prepared, well informed, and with confidence.
Development and Promotion of Ice Swimming
Together with the board of IISA Netherlands, Christa is actively committed to the further development and promotion of ice swimming in the Netherlands.
Important aspects include:
- finding and establishing new ice swimming locations throughout the country;
- developing and improving safety guidelines;
- organizing the National Ice Swimming Day;
- guiding and informing new ice swimmers;
- supporting Dutch swimmers at national and international competitions;
- establishing contact with the regular Dutch swimming federation, with the discussions now at an advanced stage;
- maintaining contacts with ice swimming organizations and swimmers at home and abroad;
- intensive support to ice swimmers in Belgium to officially establish IISA there.
In doing so, Christa combines her organizational qualities with her knowledge of the sport and her great personal commitment to the people who practice the sport.
A Special Contribution to Ice Swimming
For many years, Christa Hesterman has worked tirelessly for ice swimming, often behind the scenes. Many of her activities may not be immediately visible to the outside world, but they are essential to the functioning and growth of the sport.
From competition registrations and visas to safety rules, from guiding new swimmers to organizing international competitions and from supporting Team NL to answering questions from ice swimmers from all over the world: Christa is a constant and reliable force within the international ice swimming community.
Her commitment has not only contributed to the growth of IISA Netherlands and Team NL, but also to the professionalization and international development of ice swimming as a sport.
Conclusion
With this nomination, we would like to express our great appreciation and gratitude to Christa Hesterman, for her endless commitment, dedication, knowledge, and enthusiasm for our sport.
For many years, she has selflessly committed herself to ice swimmers, competitions, organizations, and the further development of ice swimming. Her contribution now extends far beyond the Netherlands and is meaningful to the international ice swimming community.
The board of IISA Netherlands is therefore proud to nominate Christa Hesterman for the IISHOF Class of 2027.
