For many swimmers venturing out into the open water for the first time, there are many open water swimming techniques that play a huge role in the success of your swim.
As part of my own open water skills development over the years, I’ve been exposed to open water swimming clinics hosted by Swimming South Africa and learnt some hard fought lessons in races.
I have often been requested to share my knowledge with other swimmers and as a result I will be doing this in two ways. Firstly, I have chosen a few topics and will provide some insight based on my experiences in open water swimming and share a few secrets which may help you swim faster or more comfortably. In this series of posts I will cover various aspects of open water swimming by writing about a single topic at a time. It is difficult to put all practical skills onto paper and because of this I will also be hosting open water swimming clinics at the start of our South African summer, covering these topics and more, in person.
This week I take a look at Open Water Swimming Sighting Techniques.
Sighting In The Open Water
One of the most important things in open water swimming is knowing where you are and where you are going at all times. Taking an extra second to spot the right direction could save you a few seconds or even minutes by swimming the more direct route. Swimming off-course can waste a lot of time.