Open water swimming is different from swimming in the pool. Open water swimming can be in the lakes and the seas. Some people “feel safer” swimming in the pool than in the lakes or seas. In the swimming pool, you can see everything and you know exactly what in there whereas, in the lakes or seas, swimmers are open to uncertainty.

All open water swimmers learn how to sight while they swim without stopping. Sighting is to see where you are going and whether you are heading toward the right direction.

Open water swimmers normally would figure out what they are going to use as a direction’s reference point before they get into the water, some use a tree, buoyant, stationery ship etc basically whatever works for them.

Amelia started learning endurance swimming in 2013 when she decided to do triathlon races. She feels uncomfortable and turns back when she was about to cross toward the deep end side of the swimming pool. She scared that she may sink.

Amelia ventured into swimming in the lake at Wraysbury. The experienced open water swim coach gave survival tips to make Amelia feels safe. The tips are as follows.

• Wetsuit helps her to stay afloat. She just needs to relax her body.
• How she could make herself sink in the water and pop up to surface fast.
• How she could make her body stay warm in the cold water.

Since then Amelia showed tremendous improvement in the swimming pool, she can swim up and down 30 metres pool very comfortably. Amelia said swimming in the lake is scarier than swimming in the pool. She does not feel scared swimming in the pool any more. Well done, Amelia!