In safe hands

From NOWCA to the RNLI, Rowan Clarke meets the people who make outdoor swimming happen

Swimming outdoors is natural and simple. In a complicated world, that’s a huge part of its appeal and it’s possible to swim wild without input from a single other person.

Or is it? Because, behind every secret skinny dip and marathon swimming Odyssey is an entire web of people. A skilled network of supporters, enablers and experts that exists to ensure that however we choose to enjoy open water, we can do so as safely as possible.

The thing is, even when you’re quietly immersed in a remote river pool or exploring a hidden cove, you’re leaning on this network. The swim kit you’re using has been carefully developed to keep you safe. You may have checked the water quality through The Rivers Trust or Surfers Against Sewage apps. And the water knowledge and swimming skills you’ve gained have been taught using methods carefully researched and developed by experts, imparted by teachers and coaches who have, in turn, been trained by other experts. And so, that web of brilliant, skilled people is supporting you at all times.

Aquatic apes

Our most fundamental need for expert help to swim is physiological. This is because humans lack any innate swimming ability. However, we do possess a unique capacity to not only learn to swim, but also, crucially, to understand water and how it affects us. We’ve been using these skills and knowledge for as long as humans have existed, teaching ourselves and each other to swim for food and for pleasure.

Yet, according to a 2019 poll by the Lloyds Register Foundation, 55 per cent of adults worldwide can’t swim. And, the World Health Organisation states that around 236,000 people drown each year, ranking drowning third in the most common causes of accidental death.

“We’re not natural swimmers; we’re not built that way. But we do have this draw to water,” says Lynn Goring-Crook, director and lead aquatic tutor at The Swim Surgery, which offers courses for all kinds of swimming teaching and coaching. “I think when you look at the stats for drowning, one of the crazy stats is the number of people who drowned in open water who believed they were a competent swimmer… The fact is, you could be that first time dipper, or you could have swum the Channel, you can still drown because people can get themselves in precarious situations. And yet we’re drawn to water all the time.”

It’s a complicated picture. We want to swim, benefit from being in water and learning to swim reduces the risk of drowning. But then, the World Congress on Drowning estimates that 66 per cent of the people who drown worldwide each year considered themselves to be competent swimmers. So, it’s important when we talk about open water swimming safety, to look at the whole picture – our swimming ability, our perception of swimming and how we understand natural bodies of water.

Spreading knowlege

The content of the STA (Swimming Teacher Association) Open Water Coaching course reflects this picture. With exponential growth in the number of outdoor swimmers qualifying as coaches in the UK, there’s more access to expert guidance for those taking part than ever before. This is largely down to the course’s emphasis on safety, understanding risk and the different challenges of different bodies of open water.

“We’re getting people who can swim and have experience in open water and taking them to the next level of saying, ok, what are the risks out there?” says Lynn. “It covers all levels from taking someone for their first dip to coaching them for a triathlon or channel swim. I think it opens everybody’s eyes to all the risks – and a lot of people come off the course and reassess their own risks.”

The phrase ‘risk assessment’ is an instant passion killer. But understanding risk and how to mitigate it is just as important as being able to swim in open water. But that comes with challenges. First of all, outdoor swimming is awash with variables – tides, currents, weather, animals, debris, water quality, and so on. But also, we live in an era of misinformation, so disseminating truth from utter nonsense can be tricky. And this is why we need even more experts to support us.

As well as coaches, we can also turn to organisations like NOWCA that offer research-led, evidence-based information and training for swimmers. NOWCA doesn’t just run the STA open water coaching and RLSS Open Water Lifeguard qualification, it also provides a series of online courses for open water swimmers that impart exactly the kind of knowledge we need to swim more safely.

“Our mission statement, which is ‘more water for more people more safely’, governs everything we do,” says Paul from NOWCA. “As swimmers, and people working in the swimming industry, we all put the safety component at the top of our list of things to lead on in the in the community.”

Access to outdoor swimming

Offering expert guidance, support and years of experience to open water swimming venues, NOWCA gives swimming communities a specialised safety system to manage swimmers during sessions. In some cases, NOWCA will launch and manage a venue through its subsidiary operator, Love Open Water, getting it over financial and practical hurdles in its early stages before handing it back to the community.

This is exactly the kind of safety net we rarely pay attention to as swimmers. The booking system, marker buoys, check-incheck- out systems, risk assessments and water quality checks – all the features of managed open water swimming venues that we take for granted. And yet, without that infrastructure, we would lose a whole swathe of places to swim.

“Our systems work in unison with the strong safety disciplines of our operators,” explains Paul. “And we take all opportunities to give back to the venues that use our systems and help keep costs down, which means people can operate open water swimming more safely by virtue of purchase and ledger. But it also means that there’s open water swimming in places where there might not have been before.”

This conversation around managed open water venues can feel a bit uncomfortable. For many of us, outdoor swimming is about freedom, nature, escapism and natural connections. So, managed venues – which often involve a booking system and payment – sometimes feel like the antithesis of what we love about swimming outdoors.

However, the reality is that in England, we have right of access to 8 per cent of the land, and uncontested rights to 3 per cent of our rivers, according to Right to Roam. So, for inland waters, managed venues allow access where there wouldn’t be any because their operators provide an infrastructure that satisfies land owners. And, part of that infrastructure is a vital safety net that allows us to explore outdoor swimming as safely as possible.

What’s more, organisations like the STA, RLSS and NOWCA are helping to overturn a wider, cultural ‘no swimming’ mindset and promote the skills, knowledge and support that empower us to swim more safely.

Staying safe

A great example wears red and yellow and watches over us as we swim. Open water lifeguards and beach lifeguards undergo vigorous and ongoing training to not only ensure our safety, but also enable us to swim outdoors.

This latter point is so important. While lifeguards do enact dramatic rescues Baywatch style, their role is to educate people on how to enjoy the water safely. That means knowing the nuances of their patch, how the water behaves and how to read the conditions – knowledge that they’re keen to share with swimmers.

“We really appreciate it when open water swimmers come to us and tell us their plan. Then we can keep an eye on them and if anything does happen, we’ve got that information,” says Weymouth beach lifeguard, Courtney Randino. “One of the important things to know is the hazards of the area you’re in… Read the safety signs at the beach, or speak to the lifeguards and ask them what the hazards are so everyone can stay safe.”

For lifeguards like Courtney, the other important steps you can take to look after your safety is to swim with a buddy and utilise outdoor swimming’s most Marmite piece of kit. “I think the main advice we would give water swimmers is use a tow float because they are really visible to us,” she says.

Introduced to the market in 2012, this fluorescent, inflatable dry bag makes us much more visible. As well as enabling us to carry things like energy gels and drinks, a whistle, light and a mobile phone, there are obvious safety advantages to towing one. But the high visibility is garish, and some believe they instil a false sense of security.

“We’re passionate about swimming outdoors and the real adventure of using swimming as a means to explore the wild environment and travel through open water,” says Andrea Kelly, director of Puffin Swim, that offer a range of safety kit. “For this we need reliable, good equipment that will empower our adventure, improve our experience and be functional.”

A bag full of safety kit is a contradiction to that blissful image of immersing in nature. But anthropologists have found evidence of swimmer’s ear in Neanderthals, proving that our earliest ancestors would have benefitted from earplugs – perhaps tow floats, bright swim caps and a whistle would have helped them, too.

Giving us choice

So, does all this mean that we’ve reached a tipping point? Are we finally changing attitudes from that ‘no swimming’ mentality to one that enables outdoor swimming by increasing swimmer safety? In water quality and access to swimming it feels like we still have a long way to go. But, our incredible network of outdoor swimming supporters, experts and specialists are not only educating more people, but also creating an infrastructure that can give us hope.

Scientists, researchers and aquatic experts have studied human physiology in water. Their learning informs swimming teachers and coaches, swim guides, lifeguards, boat pilots and safety crew. In turn, they educate us and our capability in open water grows with our enjoyment.

And, with this groundswell in the number of people who love swimming outdoors and able to do it competently and safely comes an impetus to protect our blue spaces, to improve access and safety. We have campaigners, activists, charities, organisations and brands to represent outdoor swimming, support communities, create opportunities and drive change.

The point is this: we can choose peaceful dips in remote chalk streams, training with a team to swim the Channel and everything in between. And being in the privileged position of having that choice is down to the people who work behind the scenes. For that, we are truly grateful.