Great line up for the Open Water Swimming Show

With little over a week to go we can now announce the final line up of exhibitors and seminars at the 2016 Open Water Swimming Show – see below. The show takes place on 10 July alongside the Henley Mile, a swimming race on one of the most scenic stretches of the Thames. Visitors can try out the endless pool, book a swimming holiday, equip themselves with the latest kit and attend one (or more) seminars from our expert speaker programme. The show is free to enter.

9:00       Open water experience: briefing, preparation and beginner’s open water swimming advice with Daniel Bullock and Cassandra Patten (Introduction to Open Water ticket holders only)

10:15     How Total Immersion can help you swim faster: Tracey Baumann, Swim Solutions

11:00     Open water racing: event day tactics: Simon Griffiths, H2Open

11:45     What to expect from a swimming holiday: Alice Todd, SwimQuest

12:30     How to warm up on land for your best open water performance: Ed Sinclair, Double Olympian and director of Maximum Performances

13:15     Where next with your open water swimming? Q&A with Dan Bullock and Cassandra Patten

14:30     The brrrr-illiant world of winter swimming: what is it and why should you do it? John Conningham-Rolls, IWSA

Endless Pools

With an Endless Pool you can swim continuously in a space just a few metres long. Rather than swimming through the water, you swim against a current set to whatever pace you choose. It’s like a treadmill for swimmers, only better, and can be installed inside a garage or large garden shed. We will have a fully functioning Endless Pool at the Open Water Swimming Show for demonstrations and kit testing. If you’re interested in buying one for your own home, why not come and try it out.

GLL

Formerly known as Greenwich Leisure Limited, GLL is the charitable social enterprise behind leisure centre operator Better. Better runs more than 170 leisure centres and pools around the UK including the London Aquatics Centre and the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Centres close to Henley include Henley Leisure Centre, Rivermead Leisure Complex and Gym (Reading), Riverside Park and Pools (Wallingford), Thame Leisure Centre, Chalfont Leisure Centre and Abbey Sports Centre (Berinsfield). Find out about membership options and swimming programmes.

Selkie

Selkie is a brand created for open water swimmers by the founders of Henley Swim. It is passionate about empowering open water swimmers of all abilities to push their personal boundaries. Selkie wants to arm swimmers with precisely the right kit to do what they do best, wherever and whenever that may be. Visit Selkie’s stand to see their range of swim products and pre- and post- swim clothing.

Total Immersion

The Total Immersion concept is based on the premise that there’s a great swimmer in everyone. TI’s coaching method is designed to help any level of swimmer master a fluid, efficient and fast stroke technique. TI coaches aim to make the entire learning experience accessible, enjoyable and satisfying, regardless of your swimming goals.

Chillswim

Chillswim is the company behind the now-famous Big Chill Swim, which takes place in Windermere, in February. No wetsuits allowed! This cold water swimming event challenges participants over a range of distances from 60m to 1000m. Chillswim also organise the fabulous Coniston End-to-End swim and they are the company behind Swim Secure, which produces a wide range of tow-floats and accessories for open water swimmers.

JDRF

JDRF is leading the global fight to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes. The charity brings together researchers from around the world and drives forward developments in treatment, reducing the burden until we one day reach a world without type 1 diabetes. JDRF is working with Henley Swim to help raise funds to support their research. Type 1 diabetes affects around 400,000 people in the UK, including 29,000 children.

PowerBreather

PowerBreather is a new concept in swimming training snorkels. The product’s unique design ensures that users will also be breathing fresh air. In a conventional snorkel, exhaled air remains in the tube and is breathed in again. Powerbreather’s twin-tube design and valve system prevents this from happening. As a training tool it’s endorsed by multiple world open water champion Thomas Lurz.

Blueseventy

Originating in New Zealand, Blueseventy (the brand name is based on the fact that 70% of the world is covered in water) has been making wetsuits since 1993. It is perhaps best known for its Helix wetsuit but also produces a wide range of performance swim products including racing costumes and goggles.

SwimTrek

SwimTrek pioneered open-water swimming holidays in 2003 and continues to be the world’s leading open-water swimming holiday specialist. SwimTrek offers holidays in over 35 destinations across the world from the Galapagos Islands to Oman, the Maldives to Mexico and Cornwall to Crete and everywhere in-between. They welcome all levels of open-water swimmer and use highly trained guides and expert local pilots. SwimTrek has been nominated for the Best Activity/Sports Holiday Company award in the 2016 British Travel Awards and was featured in The Sunday Times ‘Top 100 Holidays’ for 2016.

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan works tirelessly to provide practical, medical, financial and emotional support for people affected by cancer. Each year, hundreds of swimmers take part in events to raise funds for Macmillan. In 2015 alone, Team Macmillan swimmers raised over £440,000. This year, Macmillan launched ‘All Out Swim’– their very own outdoor swim series. In September and October, All Out Swim is taking place at four lidos across the UK, with distances of 2km or 5km on offer. Find out how you can get involved.

The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA)

The ASA is the national governing body for swimming in England and Wales. It supports over 1,200 clubs and organises a range of competitions including regional and national open water events. This year’s ASA National Open Water Championships takes place at their Open Water Festival in Rother Valley (Sheffield) on 24 and 25 July. For the first time, it includes an entry-level, wetsuit-legal, 1.5k swim as well as the 1.5 and 3.0k non-wetsuit championship events.

Blueye Eyewear

The award winning Australian eyewear brand originally created protective goggles for jockeys, Blueye now produce sunglasses and protective eyewear for a wide range of sports and also for the military market. Out of their sunglasses range, several are particularly practical for use on or around the water as they float, have headbands to reduce the chance of falling off and have polarised lenses to reduce glare – so ideal for support kayakers, boat crew, volunteers and officials.

SwimQuest

SwimQuest create open water swimming holidays for all abilities. The company is co-run by founder John Conningham-Rolls and Alice Todd. SwimQuest prides itself on the quality of its swim locations, guides and accommodation and also strives to be adaptable for guests with unusual circumstances or requests. For example, this year they will host their first SwimQuest wedding. SwimQuest has been nominated for the Best Activity/Sports Holiday Company award in the prestigious 2016 British Travel Awards (BTAs). 

Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA)

With more than 8,000 members, the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) is the world’s largest independent swimming teaching and lifesaving organisation, and delivers the highest quality training across four key business areas – Swimming Teaching, Lifesaving, First Aid and Leisure Management. For open water swimmers, the STA offers a Level 1 Pool to Open Water and a Level 2 Open Water Swimming Coaching course.

Orca

Orca produce a wide range of wetsuits from swim-run shorties to sleek, high-end suits built for comfort and speed. For open water swimmers, Orca now sells a high-visibility orange-sleeved wetsuit designed to make it much easier to spot a swimmer in the water.  In addition, Orca offer a range of accessories for swimmers and triathletes including hi-vis caps and a swimming buoy.

Swimbeam

Swimbeam is the swim training machine you can use at home. Best described as like a rowing machine for swimmers, Swimbeam is easy to assemble and can be used to build swimming-specific strength, build general fitness or substitute for those times when you’re desperate for a swimming workout but can’t get into the water.

Snugg

If you want a perfectly fitting wetsuit, Snugg is the only UK manufacturer to produce tailor made suits. Each suit is made individually to your unique set of measurements and requirements, allowing you to choose the colours you like and the neoprene thicknesses to suit your swimming style. Come and get measured up.

Primal Pantry

Primal Pantry’s mission is to provide tasty nutritious foods, which fully compliment a clean eating lifestyle, free of any grains, dairy, refined sugars and vegetable oils. Come along and sample one of their bars.

Mywetsuithire

If you need a wetsuit for the day, or the season, Mywetsuithire will be at the show with a wide range of suits.