How to find your swim tribe…

I think one of the best things about open water swimming is finding your people. Being part of a community and meeting a group of people you might never meet in your normal day to day life.

A bit of courage, confidence and effort is needed to find your swimmy friends and to take to the open water.

You can be a virtual swimmer for weeks, months, or in some cases, years. You join a Facebook group, enjoy their photos, find out where they meet, get the updates on the latest bit of kit, see plenty of wetsuits, bikinis, bobble hats and more. But where do you find your ‘dipping point’, the one that actually gets you in the open water? 

• How far do you swim? 

• How long are you in for? 

These are questions that come up regularly on social media posts. Joining a new group (suspend Covid rules for this post) comes with worries. Will I be able to keep up? Will I be actually able to get in? Will I make a fool out of myself? What if they don’t like me? They might not want me.

My first group swim was at Jacob’s Ladder, Sidmouth. A lovely swimmer had made a comment on my blog and told me to – reading between the lines – pull my finger out. I left if a week and thought “Ah, sod it” and went along at 6pm on a Thursday evening. I was extremely lucky. It was a beautiful evening in July, I approached the group and said hello, and followed them into the water. They were simply the nicest humans. I’ve enjoyed their swimmy company for years and we’ve experienced and shared a lot in our snatched hours. Even though I tend not to swim over there these days I’m proud to call these people my friends. There’s real warmth and kinship. 

And as an open water swimmer you can also roam. I pulled my finger out again and arranged to meet with another group at Coryton, Dawlish. It was Autumn, and the sea and air temperatures were dipping. I was late – but determined to swim with them – I changed hastily and swam out to join them. In my rush I’d forgotten some of my kit. They were speedy. Heads-down crawl, I swam out quickly to join them. I do remember their faces when they spotted me with a greeting of ‘Hello, is it Karen?’ with worried faces. I did look like a complete liability. No swim cap, no tow float. Jog on a few more years and we are now friends. We swim regularly, share birthdays together on the beach and share the odd snifter of gin. These are genuine friendships. We rage, laugh and look out for one another. 

There are many types of open water swimmers, to name a few…

• Dunkers who want to immerse for 2 minutes. 
• Power swim demons who want to beat their personal bests (and you!)
• Heads up nature lovers who want to bimble and enjoy the spectacle. 
• Those who want to feel the cold… they revel in and look for bare feet snow walking, icebreaking opportunities
• Those looking for fitness and to develop their distance or technique
• Adventurers who want to meet new people and experience new places
• Wellbeing searchers, who swim to manage their mental health, they swim regularly to switch off and escape, or just to see things from a different, watery perspective.
• Challenge setters, swimming an event, places or a given number of days.

I’m a swimmer. A dunk isn’t enough for me and neither is a little river or a small space.  I want a swim. I mostly want to put my head down, stretch and get a little distance. Sometimes I want to bimble. Sometimes I want an adventure. I do events now and again. Sometimes I do an early morning sunrise or a full moon dip. I equally love cold water therapy and gorgeous sunshiny summer adventures. I want to improve my technique and efficiency. I want to swim and talk with my smashing friends and to meet new people. 

I suppose I want it all, and I’m lucky to be able to have it! 

What do you want from your swim tribe, what is it you want to do? There’s no point in looking for a lovely little dip and ending up with swimmers taking off for a fast 5k.

So, in my humble opinion, this is what you do. Best start in the late spring/summer/early autumn when you can relax and not worry about the rigmarole of managing very cold water. Make sure that you’re fit and healthy, if you have health conditions check with a doctor. Find a Facebook group and be brave. Ask regular swimmers if you can join them. Or put a post on Facebook yourself. Ask a swimming group you see out and about. Proclaim yourself as new and ask for someone to join you. Then turn up and give it a go. Gently, carefully and safely. 

Find your tribe. I genuinely love mine. 

Great advice is on the Outdoor Swimming Society website. 

NB:
The open water isn’t the place to learn to swim.
People do swim solo. Your swim, your choice.