Is outdoor swimming a hobby? Therapy? Treatment? Or is it a lifestyle?

For adaptive swimmer Sophie Etheridge, outdoor swimming is the gift that just keeps on giving

I’ve always swum but through life my love of swimming and how I think of swimming has changed drastically – although, I have only realised while writing this article!

As a child, swimming was very much a sport to me. I trained seven hours a week and during race season I raced most weekends, too. I loved it, I was constantly pushing myself, improving my times and working hard. I started teaching swimming at around age 12 and got into Rookie Lifeguarding, too. That continued through to my mid teens when I tried sea swimming for the first time.

Things changed a little when I went to college, I focused more on music, which is what I wanted to do (and did) at university. Swimming was still very much part of my life; I still taught and was involved in a local triathlon club and, of course, did lifeguarding but I no longer competed as a pool swimmer. It never felt like that part of my swimming journey was over because rather than ending, it was just changing, swimming was now a hobby to me.

Going off to university obviously changed things but, again, I continued swimming as a teacher in the pool and building on my open water swimming skills and experiences. Until my accident, when for the first time since I was 18 months old, swimming was no longer a part of my life.

I became disabled and things that were simple before were hard. Laying in bed was painful, moving was painful and, on top of that, everything was exhausting. I’d finished university but wasn’t well enough to work. Life was a real struggle, but my physiotherapist convinced me to try hydrotherapy. I struggled with the sensitivity on my legs but with help, pushed past it. After that I tried swimming in a school pool because it was warmer than a normal pool. Eventually, five years after my accident, I took my first, very painful steps into a regular swimming pool again. I was home.

It was tough, not just because of the pain but because, in my mind, I could still swim as I always had, but in reality, just moving in the water was painful. As a result, I started with: what was the longest time I could stay in the water for? Then it became: how long can I swim for? How far can I swim? Finally, after a couple of years I asked myself the question: could I get back into teaching swimming and actually try working?

Over the past six years swimming has taken over my life. I have fallen in love with the water, the sport, the community, the work; the different kinds of events and the opportunities it has given me are beyond my wildest dreams. It’s now a sport, it’s a hobby and it’s a lifestyle because without it I wouldn’t be me.

The water on my legs is still painful, even today, but the water has become my happy place. A place of peace and joy and pride. For me, swimming is the gift that just keeps giving.