Beyond Swim launches new Cold Water Swimming Guidance

With the cold water season approaching, Beyond Swim have launched their Cold Water Swimming Guidance so that their accredited venues can support them in delivering safe winter swimming opportunities for all.

Beyond Swim is a Triathlon England initiative supported by Swim England and Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK), with the aim to support venues in delivering safe and enjoyable opportunities for swimmers and to grow participation in the sport.

Open water swimming has seen an increase in popularity in recent years. This is partly due to more people exploring outdoor swimming during Covid-19 lockdowns, when indoor pools closed. But also because the physical and mental health benefits have become better understood over the past few years, meaning more people are choosing open water swimming to take care of their health.

The Cold Water Swimming Guidance has been produced by Triathlon England, University of Portsmouth, Swim Safety Ltd, RLSS UK, Swim England and Ullswater Swim Place, to support accredited venues in delivering safe, all-year-round open water swimming.

Through the release of this guidance, Beyond Swim accredited venues will have a framework of safety protocols and considerations to follow that have been defined as a result of the understanding of the physiological impacts of cold water immersion.

Making open water swimming more inclusive

“I’m really excited that we’re now in a position to launch our Cold Water Swimming Guidance ahead of this winter swimming season,” said Xander Brice, Beyond Swim lead and National Development Manager for Open Water Swimming at British Triathlon.

“Being able to support our venues in delivering safe, enjoyable experiences for their swimmers is central to the work that Beyond Swim does and is a really important step in growing open water swimming as an open and inclusive opportunity for all.

“We’re passionate about helping everyone to experience the benefits of safe open water swimming and having top-quality venues in which to do this all-year-round is really important.”

Professor Greg Whyte OBE said: “Cold open water swimming is linked to a myriad of physical, mental, emotional and social health benefits, however, safety is of critical importance.

“The Beyond Swim Cold Water Swimming Guidance provides open water venues with a gold standard tool to optimise the safety of their swimmers. Whether you are a seasoned cold open water swimmer or newcomer, the Beyond Swim badge provides the assurance of quality so that you can enjoy cold open water swimming safely.”

Beyond Swim aims to grow safe participation in open water swimming by supporting and guiding venues and swimmers. Find out more about Beyond Swim and discover your nearest accredited venue. Read Outdoor Swimmer’s advice on cold water swimming.