Open Water Skills Courses at Weir Wood Reservoir
Introductory & Race Skills Courses
Introduction to Open Water Swimming Group
Have you entered your first open water swim event/triathlon, or are you new to or nervous about open water swimming, despite perhaps being a confident pool swimmer?
Come along to this introductory group session to increase your confidence. The session is limited to 6 swimmers so we can tailor it to your needs as much as possible.
This introductory course is delivered over two sessions - a zoom classroom + an open water swim.
Zoom Classroom
We go over equipment for open water swimming, how to plan and prepare for an open water swim, how to warm up safely afterwards. As open water swimming often involves swimming in cold water, you will learn about 'cold water shock', how to spot signs of 'hypothermia' and what 'after drop' is. We will also address any anxieties you may have about swimming outdoors.
Open Water Swim session
You will learn how to put your wetsuit on correctly to maximise comfort and movement. We will then enter the water and learn to acclimatise slowly and safely and learn to relax and enjoy being in the open water. Our breathing is intrinsically linked to our mental state, so learning to control your breathing and heart rate is very important when swimming in cold water and particularly if we are a bit nervous. We address any fears about not being able to see under the water, creatures lurking in the reservoir, being in deep water, etc.
Have you completed a few triathlons/open water swims and would like to get faster? One way to do this is to learn/improve specific open water skills
This course is appropriate for swimmers who want to learn how to maximise their efficiency in a triathlon or open water swim events and are already comfortable swimming in open water or have completed the Introductory Course at the reservoir
Depending on the experience and ability of the group, this course will cover some of the following skills:
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dealing with mass starts and positioning on start line
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sighting - to swim in a straighter line
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turning around buoys - different techniques
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drafting - different techniques
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swim technique pointers
Open Water Race Skills Group
The courses are run on a first come, first served basis, so if you are interested, please email Marianne asap to book your place: weightlessswimming@gmail.com.
Some groups will only run if minimum of 4 swimmers sign up, otherwise Marianne can offer 1-2-1 and other smaller group coaching options. Please see main open water swimming page on this website for details.