Fin-tastic mermaid in the making

Developments in swimming has also enabled creativity and fun to thrive. Ella Foote pulls on a mermaid tail and monofin to discover more

When I was a kid, I would spend hours in the water doing nothing much but swimming about in my imagination while diving to the bottom of pools, skimming the seabed with my fingers or letting waves wash over me in the shallows. Much of the time I imagined myself to be a mermaid, sometimes even trying to recreate the bit in Disney’s The Little Mermaid film the wave of water splash while on a rock; I never quite managed it. While I have no hope of growing scales or a tail, the idea of being a mermaid still thrills me and now there are lessons to learn how.

One of the brilliant developments in swimming is how teaching and time in the water has grown creatively. It has always bothered me that unless a child demonstrates some natural speed and skill in the pool, there is seldom much encouragement for kids to continue swimming beyond the learning years. Many parents will happily take their children out of the pool once they are skilled enough to swim on holidays and have significant water skills to head into adulthood.

Swimming is often seen as a life-skill tick box and even in coaching, there is little interest in a swimmer unless they are going on to win medals. Being a swim teacher myself, I often suggest open water to young swimmers who demonstrate long and strong swimming strokes – ideal for longer distances. I have shared ideas of artistic swimming with those who like to perform and hold their breath, all to show that swimming can be more than competition or survival skills. But simply being playful is also important.

“Anyone can be a mermaid,” says Abbie Marsh, founder and teacher of SplashActive Swim and Mermaid School. “Once someone has learned to swim, training and learning how to swim in a monofin gives them another avenue, rather than just going into club swimming. It allows you to be active in another way in the water and keeps you fit.”

I joined a mermaid class with SpashActive at the Guildford Spectrum Leisure Centre for a family session with my niece, Chloé, who is also a confident seven-year-old swimmer.

There are some basic requirements to join a class: a swimmer needs to have reached Swim England level five swimming or equivalent; be able to swim 25m on their front and back; be able to tread water for 30 seconds; perform dolphin kick; feel comfortable being submerged under water and be able to do a logroll.

“The aim of our sessions is to learn how to use the monofins in a safe way,” says Abbie. “I have a specific Fin to Fit qualification, and we have accredited equipment, with quick release if needed.” You can be the best swimmer but suddenly being strapped into a tail or monofin is quite different to having the freedom of your legs in the water.

The classes are really inclusive with equipment designed for children and adults of all size and skill level. The first task is to choose your tail and there is a huge choice of colours, patterns and sizes. Abbie demonstrates how to put on our tails and fins, which takes a bit of skill before we remove them for a traditional swim warm-up.

“The tails are really stretchy, made from a swimsuit material, so not at all claustrophobic,” says Abbie. “Once in the fin and tail, there is only really one way to move and you can go a lot faster in the water. It is great exercise. Using the fin and tale requires core strength, upper body movement as well as working your glutes, hamstrings and quads. The key is to kick from the hip and not the knees, it is great as a cardiovascular workout.”

From the moment I slip into the tail I can’t stop smiling. It is easier than I imagined; you must give yourself to the water and be fluid with the movement. It is, as Abbie says, a great workout. The lesson goes fast as we practice several skills, collect shells and swim through seaweed, rolling onto backs. Swimming on your back in a monofin is hard!

“When I finish a mermaid session, the first thing I notice is the big smile on my clients’ faces. It is lots of fun and often people don’t realise how hard they have been working,” says Abbie. SplashActive offer pool sessions in Hampshire and Surrey. This summer, they also did their first class in open water at Longside Lake near Egham.

Author and swimmer Emma Simpson joined the outdoor class. “Choosing tails was like dressing up as a Disney princess as a child,” she says. “It feels so different to normal swimming, requiring lots more core work but I found it surprisingly easy to adapt. The whole experience was fun and friendly. We were all strangers but there was a lot of laughter. I loved seeing the other tails swish ahead of me under the surface, it really did feel like I was swimming among mermaids.”

For more information or to join a class, visit splashactive.co.uk. Thank you to Abbie for hosting us at her lesson.