Communities that swim together, stay together

Over the last ten years there has been a boom in black and brown swimming communities. The development has enabled people not only to learn to swim but to thrive in the sport. Abigail Black writes about the importance of her community, BADU, and how it has supported her ambitions in and out of the water.

Although I am a solo, non-competitive, all-year round outdoor swimmer, the idea of swimming 400m, cycling 10km and running 2.5km with BADU to get me ready for my first ‘super sprint’ triathlon appealed. Why the sudden jump to competitive sports? BADU (Broaden, Advance, Develop, Understand) is a Hackney, London-based community-focused company, offering a variety of sports programmes to empower and “instil a sense of belonging and inclusivity.” 

I am from Hackney and connecting with people in and around my area in an inclusive sports-focused environment sounded like an excellent idea. 

Before tri training started, I joined BADU’s advanced swimming class and spotted something quite unusual. Two out of the six swim lanes were occupied by majority black and brown swimmers. Now this was quite unusual and incredibly inspiring. The BADU swim lanes stood out for all the right reasons: we were proficient swimmers, diving into any drill our swim coach Elena threw at us with fervour, and even when sprinting ferociously against each another, a terrific sense of camaraderie and support remained. I loved it! This was community swimming in action. Never mind that our mere presence in the water challenged the view that black folks can’t, don’t or won’t swim. We were happy swimmers, open to learning and developing our swim skills. 

This attitude to improvement went across every BADU swim group training for Challenge London 2023: the non-swimmers, beginners, intermediate and the advanced group. While I am an experienced open water and pool swimmer, some of my peers were bravely taking on the challenge of learning to swim so they could compete (or complete) their first triathlon (and gain a life-saving skill). Anyone who has learnt to swim as an adult can appreciate the enormity of this challenge plus the additional pressure of an imminent deadline. Take Isiah, a non-swimmer, who I first met at BADU’s run training session. Isiah rated his swim ability and confidence at one out of ten prior to swim coaching from BADU swim coach Wayne Owide, but now with his first triathlon behind him, Isiah looks forward to swimming for leisure – including outdoors. 

Supporting all the way to the finish line and beyond

I met Sariah Lawrence at a run training session, and we puffed our way past each other on the 2.5km run, the final leg of the triathlon on event day. A gentle soul and beginner swimmer, Sariah questioned her ability to take part in the triathlon as she lacked confidence in all three disciplines. She feels BADU’s swim coaches Jackie Antoine and Elena improved her swim technique, giving her the confidence boost she needed to get her through the 400m swim. “BADU is more than just an organisation that helps their community,” says Sariah. “It is a family network encouraging and supporting all the way to the finish line and beyond.”

Last year, Christina Morgan completed her first triathlon as an individual, bumping into Nana Badu, founder of BADU, during transition. Both lost track of time chatting, temporarily forgetting there was still work to be done. Earlier in the day, Christina had doubted whether she belonged at the triathlon partly because there were very few triathletes around that looked like her, and as she had only recently learnt to swim, a triathlon felt like a huge leap. Realising that Nana was responsible for the large group of black and brown triathletes Christina spotted striding into ExCeL that morning, they formed a connection. 

Flash forward to 2023, Christina entered DHB Sport’s Dare to Dream competition, sharing her seven-month journey from non-swimmer to swim-ready for her first triathlon in 2022. In her application, she also spoke about her dream to encourage people from under-represented groups to learn to swim. Christina won. Mentioning that she was now part of BADU’s 2023 tri team, DHB hopped on board and offered support to the BADU triathletes.

Taking part in her first swimathon

Impressively, Marie only began to seriously learn how to swim in March 2022. Since then, she has taken part in her first swimathon (1.5km) with BADU in May, swam in her first open water event in June (the Great North Swim) and was dragged into signing up for this month’s Dock2Dock swim by an annoyingly determined friend (me). Despite these accomplishments, Marie’s swim confidence prior to tri training was low. She credits BADU’s “expert level coaching” and the community spirit shared in pool sessions to her now increased confidence in open water. 

As the big day loomed, I noticed I felt very different to how I usually feel when a long-distance outdoor swim is approaching: I just wanted to get the tri out of the way. I found there was far too much to think about on race day: Where does the race belt go? How will I remember where my bike is amongst the thousands of other bikes? How do I get to the cycle route? Where am I running to? 

For an open water swim event all you really need is goggles, swim attire, maybe a tow float, a swim hat and you’re good to go. Okay, don’t forget the timing chip! Triathlon race day prep felt more overwhelming: we were preparing for three different disciplines, each with different bits of kit needed or needing to be discarded. I needn’t have worried. Between the Challenge London team and BADU, we had all the guidance needed before stepping off the pontoon into the water.

For me the swim went by in a flash, for others, it must have felt like a lifetime. The best thing was spotting a teammate as we both came up for air on the same side in the first 100m. Due to our speed, I don’t remember who my teammate was, but it didn’t matter, we were in it together, swimming, breathing, connected and driven by BADU team spirit.

Image: Relentless Forward Motion