Friday Morning Swim Club has come to an end.
The hugely popular event brought thousands of swimmers to Montrose Harbor to jump into Lake Michigan at 7 a.m. on Fridays throughout the summer.
But as the event spread on social media, and the number of participants grew, so did safety concerns.
Organizers Nicole Novotny and Andrew Glatt addressed the club’s over 50,000 followers on Instagram Thursday, announcing that official swims won’t be taking place this summer due to disagreements with the Chicago Park District.
In the video, Glatt said they were sent an invoice of $108,000 during the permitting process for “just the space alone.” Factor in other costs organizers said were required, including lifeguards and toilets, and permitting the event would cost between $150,000 to $175,000, Glatt said. The park district didn’t confirm or deny this cost when asked by a Sun-Times reporter.
Novotny tacked on the organizers’ own costs of running the event, saying the grand total for the summer would be between $250,000 to $350,000 to run the free event.
The park district previously told the Sun-Times that it first reached out to organizers early last summer about permitting the event but never heard back.
The organizers also pointed to “general disinterest” from the park district as a reason for the event coming to a close.
“It seemed clear to us the Chicago Park District was not interested in making this work,” Glatt said in the video.
In a statement sent to the Sun-Times, the park district commended the club’s decision to end the gatherings, citing safety concerns associated with swimming in unauthorized areas and adding that most deaths in the lake occur in unauthorized swim areas when lifeguards aren’t present.
“While Chicago’s lakefront can be a source of enjoyment, this natural body of water can present life-threatening hazards, even for the most experienced swimmer,” the Park District said. “Every year, we learn of tragic deaths of individuals along the Lake Michigan shoreline who may have underestimated the risk posed by taking a dip in the water.”
The district urged people to use beaches and designated swim areas once they open May 24.
Last summer, the club’s popularity skyrocketed as TikToks featuring the event went viral — even Mayor Brandon Johnson gave the club a shoutout in a now-deleted post on X — but soon, questions about the event’s safety began to surface, the Sun-Times reported.
Participants in the event jumped into the lake, treading water or using floats while they waited for one of the four ladders nearby to open up. There were no lifeguards on duty, and the floats used aren’t approved life-saving devices.
Safety was another reason the organizers pointed to for ending the official swims, saying their definition of safety and the park district’s weren’t the same. The organizers said the park district was against the use of blow-up floats, which have become a staple of the club, but have been long banned by the district.
“We were excited about hiring lifeguards and making the event safer and smoother. In no way were we fighting reasonable safety solutions. We simply differed on our definition of safe,” Glatt said.
Organizers said they have plans for smaller events to keep the community they’ve built connected in some way.
“Thank you everyone that has made the last three years so special,” Novotny said. “Building Friday Morning Swim Club with you has been the highlight of our careers to this point.”
Contributing: Mary Norkol
