Why enter open water swimming events?

By their nature, open water swimming events are at higher risk of cancellation than some other outdoor events, but don’t let that stop you from entering

I received a couple of emails earlier in the week asking me if I knew whether Swim Serpentine was going ahead. The famous Central London lake where the swim takes place has been closed to swimming recently due to blue-green algae.

At the time of writing (Thursday morning), it was looking good. The Outdoor Swimmer team are planning to be there with our stand and we’re looking forward to meeting lots of readers.

Risky endeavours

However, the worries highlight the risky nature of outdoor swimming events. Last weekend, the Dart 10k was cancelled due to storms. Next weekend, I’m hoping to do a swim in Brighton that was rescheduled from the summer. The week before last, I was in Portugal for a swim. There had been worries there too that heavy seas would make swimming too dangerous – but luckily conditions were good on the day.

Unfortunately, that is the nature of outdoor swimming. It’s sometimes called wild swimming for a reason – we swim in natural environments and things happen that are beyond our control.

Everyone loses

When events are cancelled, everyone loses money and nobody is happy. The organisers spend a lot in advance (e.g. on staff salaries) and are often committed to payments – such as facilities hire – regardless of whether or not the event goes ahead. Charities lose funds that might have been raised. And even if you get a refund or a transfer, you may lose money on accommodation you no longer need. There is also an emotional hit – disappointment and feeling let down.

This, I appreciate, can make swimmers reluctant to enter events. But I urge you not to give up on them.

Worth supporting

Events give us opportunities to swim in new places and connect with swimmers from outside of our regular swimming communities. They challenge and inspire us, and allow many swimmers to raise money for good causes.

We need to accept that swimming events are more likely to be cancelled than many other types of outdoor activity. In fact, it’s part of what makes swimming events so magical. When they do go ahead, you feel privileged to be there. You know you’ve been lucky.

But when they are cancelled, we need to learn to respond gracefully. There’s no point lashing out at organisers on social media. They haven’t taken your money and run. They’ve been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make the event happen and will be gutted it can’t go ahead.

If you’ve booked ahead, why not go to the destination anyway – surely there are other things to do besides swimming.

Or if you find yourself with a free day at home, think of something memorable to do instead.

But don’t give up on events. They are an exciting and valuable part of our precious outdoor swimming community.

What are your favourite events? What events will you keep entering, despite the risk of cancellation? Let us know.