Club of the Month – Out to Swim
Out to Swim is a masters aquatics club aimed to provide a safe and encouraging environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual swimmers to train (however, anyone is welcome to join). The club was created with a dozen swimmers training together for an event. Today, Out To Swim has over 300 members with 10 training sessions a week across pools in Central London and a branch in Brighton.
In the last few years the Out To Swim open water section has grown multifold. The Club has taken large teams to Dart 10K, Dock to Dock, Thames Marathon, Swim Serpentine and many other events. Even our die-hard pool swimmer Lizzie Bellinger, butterfly record holder, took the plunge into fresh water and recently took the European Aquathlon Champion title. Last season, long distance swimmer Geraldine Treacher swam across the 26.5km Lake Zurich, Emily Chong and her 4-woman team took 27 hours to cross Lake Geneva which is almost 70km long. Every season more swimmers are lured into the world of open water swimming, triathlon and aquathlons. As a club, Out To Swim provides a forum for swimmers to swap tips on anti-chafing, wetsuit selecting and general camaraderie.
Lizzie Bellinger on her way to taking the European Aquathlon Champion title
Geraldine Treacher midway across the 26.5km Lake Zurich
Email editor@outdoorswimmer.com if you would like your club to feature as club of the month.
Jonathan Cowie
Jonathan is a year-round skins swimmer with a particular love of very cold water. He has competed in ice swimming competitions around the world. He is a qualified open water coach with a particular love of introducing new swimmers to the open water.
