Club News

How to do swimmers stay on course and pick the best line in the water…? They sight. Swimmers should always be thinking about their best line (or a draft!).

Training tips for your next open-water swim. 

1. Lift your head only as high as necessary. In calm bodies of water, like in a lake or river, lift just your eyes out of the water.
2.  In wavy ocean conditions, time it so you’re sighting on the top of a wave for the best view of the course. Feel your body rise and fall on the swells and sight accordingly.
3.  When conditions are choppy and unpredictable, lift your head extra high but try to minimize the total number of times you sight. Use landmarks and other swimmers when breathing to the side.
4.  Time your sighting just before you’re going to take a breath. Sight as part of a breath, but do not breathe while looking forward. Separate the two actions by sighting forward and then immediately rolling your head to take a breath to the side.
5.  As you prepare to sight, press down with your lead hand and arm during the catch phase of your stroke. This will slightly lift your upper body and make it easier to raise your head/lift your eyes out of the water.
6.   Arch your back while lifting your head. This will allow your legs and feet to stay near the surface, minimizing drag under the water.
7.  Kick extra hard for a moment while you are sighting. This will help maintain forward speed and also keep your feet from dropping.
8.  Sight 2–3 times in a row (during every other stroke). Use the first sight to locate the buoy, the second sight to adjust your angle and the third to verify your direction. Swim straight for 20–30 seconds before repeating this system. There’s a good chance you won’t see exactly where you need to be going with one look forward – but don’t panic if you don’t see much first time. Over several strokes build up a picture in your mind of what you are looking at and where you are going. It will gradually become clearer and clearer as you progress forward. It does depend on water conditions and visibility but normally you’d look to sight about every 9 strokes.
9.  Practice, practice, practice! Make a point to practice sighting drills in every second or third workout.
10.  Aim is to sight without disrupting the rhythm of your stroke or your body position in the water
11. Bi-lateral breathing: Breathing to both sides while swimming. To swim straight you need a symmetrical stroke and the natural way to become symmetrical is with bilateral breathing. Spend time developing your bilateral breathing in the pool and it will have a massive benefit on your speed in open-water. Practice bi-lateral breathing.

Thank to Swim Coach Deirdre Kearney for putting together these tips: