Friday, March 12, 2021
Five Tips For Open Water Swimming
With warm weather on the horizon, there is the potential for swimmers to get back into open water swimming. If you haven’t been able to attend an open water meet before, below are some tips from current coaches to help you feel comfortable at your first competition.
1) Get there early
Getting to the meet early can help both coaches and athletes get comfortable with the course and what is has to offer. In addition, it can help calm nerves of swimming an open water race for the first time. Bruce Gemmell, head coach at Nation's Capital Swim Club, and Norm Wright, head coach at NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, both offer the advice to swim the course during open water practice when it’s available because it helps swimmers get comfortable with what to expect the following day. Gemmell adds, “If possible, go swim the day before at the same time of day you will be racing. Current, sun [and] conditions will most likely be very similar to race day.”
2) Ask questions
“Be curious and ask other coaches a lot of questions,” said Catherine Kase, U.S. open water head coach for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Some examples of what to ask about include the course, conditions, selection procedures and feeding stations. Being as informed as possible helps both the coach and athlete make the right decisions leading up to and on race day.
3) Know you will have limited contact during the race
Open water swimming is different than in the pool because you aren’t able to have contact with your swimmer throughout their race. This is something to start talking about ahead of time so you both can figure out multiple race strategies. When looking back on her first open water race as a coach, Kase said she didn’t realize how stressful the entire race is because of the little contact available with athletes during races.
4) Talk through and visualize various plans
Kase said, “It’s so important to talk through various plans.” Since coaches have little contact with athletes during their races, go over multiple variations of your race strategy. Feel more prepared by talking and visualizing through various circumstances in addition to how your athlete will effectively conquer them. Learn more about how to use imagery and visualization in a race through the American Development Model.
5) Attend and pay attention at the pre-race meeting
Attending the pre-race meeting will help both the athlete and coach feel more prepared for the race. “Make the safety meeting a priority for first time swimmers,” Wright said. In addition, coaches suggest not only attending the pre-race meeting, but paying attention. These meetings have a lot of important facts, especially about the safety plan, in order to make the event a success for all attendees.
Bonus tip – Coach Wright said, “Lanolin works better in salt water than Vaseline!”
A new race can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, use that energy in combination with the above tips to be better prepared for your first open water experience. To learn more about open water swimming, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/swimmers-parents/swimmers/open-water.
Attended your first open water race? We want to hear from you, let us know here.
1) Get there early
Getting to the meet early can help both coaches and athletes get comfortable with the course and what is has to offer. In addition, it can help calm nerves of swimming an open water race for the first time. Bruce Gemmell, head coach at Nation's Capital Swim Club, and Norm Wright, head coach at NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, both offer the advice to swim the course during open water practice when it’s available because it helps swimmers get comfortable with what to expect the following day. Gemmell adds, “If possible, go swim the day before at the same time of day you will be racing. Current, sun [and] conditions will most likely be very similar to race day.”
2) Ask questions
“Be curious and ask other coaches a lot of questions,” said Catherine Kase, U.S. open water head coach for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Some examples of what to ask about include the course, conditions, selection procedures and feeding stations. Being as informed as possible helps both the coach and athlete make the right decisions leading up to and on race day.
3) Know you will have limited contact during the race
Open water swimming is different than in the pool because you aren’t able to have contact with your swimmer throughout their race. This is something to start talking about ahead of time so you both can figure out multiple race strategies. When looking back on her first open water race as a coach, Kase said she didn’t realize how stressful the entire race is because of the little contact available with athletes during races.
4) Talk through and visualize various plans
Kase said, “It’s so important to talk through various plans.” Since coaches have little contact with athletes during their races, go over multiple variations of your race strategy. Feel more prepared by talking and visualizing through various circumstances in addition to how your athlete will effectively conquer them. Learn more about how to use imagery and visualization in a race through the American Development Model.
5) Attend and pay attention at the pre-race meeting
Attending the pre-race meeting will help both the athlete and coach feel more prepared for the race. “Make the safety meeting a priority for first time swimmers,” Wright said. In addition, coaches suggest not only attending the pre-race meeting, but paying attention. These meetings have a lot of important facts, especially about the safety plan, in order to make the event a success for all attendees.
Bonus tip – Coach Wright said, “Lanolin works better in salt water than Vaseline!”
A new race can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, use that energy in combination with the above tips to be better prepared for your first open water experience. To learn more about open water swimming, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/swimmers-parents/swimmers/open-water.
Attended your first open water race? We want to hear from you, let us know here.