Swim 10km at Weymouth
At the end of June this year there is an opportunity to swim the Olympic Marathon distance in the sheltered waters of Weymouth Bay.
Since 2008 the Olympics have included open water swimming over a course of 10,000 metres; in Beijing this was held in the rowing lake, in London 2012 the venue was a course in the Serpentine in Hyde Park. For the Rio Olympics they will be using the famous Copacabana beach.
Whilst Weymouth has neither the glamour nor the crowds that you will find on Copacabana beach you will find a very friendly event and an exhilarating sea swim in a very safe environment. The bay is sheltered from the prevailing south westerly winds by both Portland and the Chesil Bank and the tidal flow along our course is negligible. You will start in the water and swim parallel to the beach over a 1km length course for 5 complete laps, accompanied by canoe lifeguards and watched by powered rescue craft.
The date is Saturday 27 June and the venue is Preston Beach Weymouth. ASA registered swimmers from the South West Region will be eligible to compete for the Reg Blackburn trophies and there will also be an open competition for swimmers from any part of the country. The swim will be run under FINA Open Water swimming rules; however there will be a wetsuit class for those who feel that the sea swimming at the end of June needs extra thermal insulation.
If 10,000 metres is too far to swim, come along the next day and try one of our other distances, 1.5km, 3km or 5km. Again run under FINA rules but there will be wetsuit classes for all these distances. There will be trophies and medals for both ASA Open classes and ASA South West Region swimmers and the younger swimmers will have the chance to qualify for the ASA National Open Water Championships which are being held at the beginning of August at Rother Valley Country Park.
Full details and entry form can be found here: http://swimwest.org.uk/swim/index.php/open-water-events/icalrepeat.detail/2015/06/27/53/-/open-water-championships .
If you wish you can e-mail Les Debenham at openwater@armles.co.uk for more information.
Les Debenham
Chairman, ASA SWR Open Water Swimming
Simon Griffiths
I created Outdoor Swimmer in 2011 (initially as H2Open Magazine) as an outlet for my passion for swimming outdoors. I've been a swimmer and outdoor swimmer for as long as I remember. Swimming has made a huge difference to my life and I want to share its joys and benefits with as many people as possible. I am also the author of Swim Wild & Free: A Practical Guide to Swimming Outdoors 365 a Year and I provide one-to-one support to swimmers through Swim Mentoring.
