The Outdoor Swimmers' Handbook: Collected Wisdom on the Art, Sport and Science of Outdoor Swimming

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A friend has the ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ approach, she just makes a decision and sticks her head in. If you’re somewhere the water is taking you, you can swim defensively – you lie on your back, feet first, and look out in front of you and keep your arms out, feet out in front, not looking up too much that your bum drops as then you can hit rocks. There, three figures dive off the sandstone and are buoyed by what appears to be the sluice and joy of a downstream Neolithic drift.

swimmers – Outdoor Swimming Society Expert tips for beginner swimmers – Outdoor Swimming Society

The rock-art figures – whose creation is dated by the British Museum to about 6,000 to 9,000 years ago – carry with them all the happiness of a river float: arms up, bellies and spirits buoyant.

Wherever you’re swimming, wash your hands before eating, cover up any cuts, avoid the water for a couple of days after heavy rainfall, do a visual assessment – you can tell a lot just by looking at it – be aware of the strength of your own immune system, and finally weatherproof your swimming. The Awaken Your Blue Mind challenge is to complete 21 water-based activities over the winter months, from when the clocks go back at the end of October, to when the cloths go forward in March. Or, the further you are from hypothermia you are when you get in, the further you are from hypothermia when you get out. We are part of the planet and all the elements again, in a place where moons wane, storms swell and life ebbs and flows throughout the seasons. Just as there was a time before triathlons, skateboarding, surfing, mountaineering or mountain biking, there was a time when mass-participation open-water swims were not commonplace.

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The OSS ‘Regional Rep’ programme, whereby a few swimmers across the UK started social swim communities in their areas via Facebook, mushroomed into the hundreds of independent social wild swim groups that exist today. Or a period of slack water around low tide and high tide, but you can never exactly predict when that will be.If it’s somewhere that could handle a lot of footfall, great, tell people, but if not then consider maybe not telling as many people. This was a time when outdoor swimming was largely thought to be a dirty, dangerous and illegal activity, and there was fear of being sued. The OSS logo was spotted with excitement on hoodies in pubs and bobbing on red hats like buoys in the sea. So many swimmers have helped create this movement and form and articulate this knowledge over the years – may it help make water accessible to millions more.