Watch our webinar about open water swimming events: all you need to know

Am I a strong enough swimmer to enter an open water swimming event? How do I train? Are events only for super fast swimmers? (spoiler alert: they’re not). Watch our webinar for expert advice on entering an open water event.

Our March issue is all about endurance swimming and includes our annual events supplement. Swimming events are a fantastic opportunity to test your fitness, travel to new places, have fun and meet other swimmers – but they can also be challenging and intimidating.

For our virtual Q&A event on Tuesday 5 March, we spent a happy hour discussing swimming events with outdoor swimming experts Simon Griffiths and Ella Foote. You can watch the recording below.

In this webinar about open water swimming events we explore:

• Why do an event?
• How good a swimmer do you need to be?
• Can you swim breaststroke?
• How should you train and prepare?
• We answer your questions

Meet the experts

Simon Griffiths is the author of Swim Wild and Free: A Practical Guide to Swimming Outdoors 365 Days a Year and he is the founder of Outdoor Swimmer magazine. He is a lifelong swimmer, swims year-round in the Thames and regularly takes part in open water and pool races. His swimming adventures have taken him around the world. He was also part of the team that created the STA Open Water Swimming Coaching qualification. His mission is to help as many people as possible discover the joys and benefits of swimming in natural waters.

Ella Foote is a renowned outdoor swimmer and journalist; she has spent her entire life enjoying outdoor water. As well as leading the editorial, digital and experiential outputs for Outdoor Swimmer she is also Director of Dip Advisor, a swim guiding business helping people enjoy wild water. Ella also teaches swimming to children and adults, is an Open Water Coach and RLSS Open Water Lifeguard. An intrepid swim explorer, she is constantly seeking out new rivers, lakes, ponds, seas and pools to plunge into. She enjoys swimming in all seasons and has completed swims like an English Channel relay crossing, 24-hour swim challenge, the Thames Marathon 14k and the Dart 10k, as well as smaller more joyful dips and dunks across the country.

Keep an eye on our newsletter for future virtual Q&A events, which are free to subscribers. Find out more about the many benefits of subscribing to Outdoor Swimmer magazine.

Image: UltraSwim 33.3 #5 Montenegro. 4-7 Oct 2024, Herceg Novi, Montenegro