Swim straight in open water swimming

Learning to swim straight is a crucial aspect of open water swimming. It could shave minutes from your swim splits and without even putting on a greater effort. It can be really frustrating to find out that you spend all your time developing your swimming fitness and technique but this effort didn't pay off because you couldn't swim straight. Just consider that if you swim only 350m more during your open water race (because you couldn't swim straight) you'll end up swimming for about seven more minutes, which can make a huge difference in your performance. 

Two techniques for cold water acclimatization

Acclimating to cold water during an open water race is a crucial component for all open water swimmers and triathletes. That’s because the body heat loss in cold water, for a non-exercising body, can be up to two to four times greater than the heat loss in cold air at the same temperature. When you exercise in cold water, swimming for example, the heat loss from your skin can be 70 times greater than air of equal temperature.

There are two ways to lose heat during cold-water exercise, and these are due to both conduction and convection. Conductive losses are direct losses from one molecule to another through a liquid, solid or gas. Convective losses depend on how fast water (or air) moves past the body.

Red card in open water swimming

The red card in an open water swimming race indicates that a swimmer has been disqualified due to unsportsmanlike conduct or a serious infraction of the rules during the race. The race referee shows the swimmer a red card or a red flag to let him know that he has been disqualified. 

Tips to cope with cold water in open water races

A lot of open water swimmers hate the cold, both the cold air and especially cold water. There many people out there that they don’t go near the ocean until it gets up around 20 degrees C. Cold water can not only be unpleasant and draining, it can also be dangerous. If you’re training at temperatures under 20 degrees Celsius, it's always best to do it with a partner, just in case.

There are many triathlons where cold water is part of the challenge—especially the early-season ones in April and May. What can you do about cold water, other than be uncomfortable, get an ice cream headache, and use up lots of your body's energy just trying to stay warm? Here is a list of tips to minimize the negative effects and the uncomfortable feelings that can result from cold water swimming.

How to draft in an open water race

Cyclists, race car drivers and open water swimmers all know the benefits of drafting and positioning. As swimmers take off in an open water race or triathlon and go from buoy to buoy, they create a conga line with seemingly everyone chasing after the person in front of them. Where ideally should you position yourself?

 It helps to know a bit about water movement.

Tips for the pool to open water transition

If you're one of the many people who'll jump into the water this year to try your hand and legs at the growing sport of triathlon, the thought of open water swimming may loom large in your mind.

To help prepare for the transition to your local lake, reservoir, or ocean, noted swim coach Michael Collins offers these tips on helpful pool practice: 

• Close your eyes: Swim 8 to 10 strokes in the pool with your eyes closed, then sight above water. This will help you learn to swim straight without using the bottom of the pool as a guide.