Thanet Swim Club

Thanet Swim Club is not only a pool-based club; we have organised open water training and held Open Water Club Champs & Fun-Days since 2012.  Our team’s successes have grown year on year.
If you are a Thanet Swim Club member (including parents and coaches) and are interested in participating in our open water training sessions or joining us at planned events this season please e-mail Karen Crabtree so we can include you in our circulation list for more detailed information as we approach the open water swimming season (commencing early June 2019).

Open Water Planning for 2019

A summary of our plans for the Open Water training and racing for 2019 is provided below – please click on the table for a clearer, printable version. Follow the links below for full information on each event.

Open Water Training Days
Full info [here]
Open Water Racing Schedule 2019
Full info [here]
Open Water Club Champs & Fun-Day
Full info [here]
Open Water Achievements
Full info [here]

Wetsuits

Swimmers will need to train with and without wetsuits – you will need a proper swimming / triathlon wetsuit with full length sleeves and legs.

Wetsuit rules:
The Fina rules regarding swimwear have changed since the 2017 season; a summary is provided in the table below.  For full details refer to: Fina Rules. Because of this we now recommend hiring or purchasing a wetsuit for the season.  Some suggestions are provided further down the page.

* British Swimming guidance:  Wetsuits must completely cover torso, back, knees and shoulders (t-shirt/polo-shirt style as a minimum), and shall not extend beyond the neck, wrists and ankles.  The outer surface of wetsuits must not include outstanding shapes, such as ridges, fins etc.  Suitability of wetsuits will be subject to approval by the Lead Referee at the event who will have ultimate say.

Wetsuit solutions:

Hire a Wetsuit (examples):
Season’s hire from £65 www.mywetsuithire.co.uk  (Deposit & T&Cs apply)
Season’s hire £70 www.hireawetsuit.co.uk (No deposit, wear & tear fees)
Season’s hire £75 www.wrightsport.co.uk (TYR £75 deposit + wear & tear fees)

Buy a wetsuit (examples):
Speedo: Fastskin Xenon ThinSwim (KC’s recommended best value thin-sleeved suit)
On sale for £87.50!!!
GIRLS:  https://www.newitts.com/speedo-fastskin-xenon-thin-swim-full-sleeve-wetsuit-black-diva-siren-red
BOYS: https://www.newitts.com/speedo-fastskin-xenon-thin-swim-full-sleeve-wetsuit-black-amparo-blue-siren-red

Orca: Kids open water wetsuit £99 (via SimplySwim – remember to use the club discount)
https://www.simplyswim.com/products/orca-open-squad-youth-wetsuit-black-and-orange

SimplySwim at Faversham do a good range of triathlon wetsuits that you can try on in the shop https://www.simplyswim.com/collections/triathlon-wetsuits

Buy Kids wetsuit with Annual upgrade:
Huub ‘Atom II’ Initial Price of £140, price for size upgrades  £55
HUUB Wetsuits for Juniors

Adult wetsuits
The best adult OW wetsuit we have found is the Orca Alpha, but this is around £550!
Other good makes are BlueSeventy, Speedo and Aquasphere,
Huub wetsuits are excellent – but very fragile

Other information:

Cold water familiarisation:  As can be seen below, open water temperatures are around 8-10 degrees colder than a typical training pool (27 degrees).  Because of this swimmers will require a formal induction at one of our training sessions.  This allows swimmers to familiarise themselves with swimming in colder water and build their tolerance to it by learning how to control their breathing on entry to cold water and learning to recognise the signs of when it’s time to get out because of the cold.  Swimmers also need to get used to swimming in wetsuits as, whilst they provide the benefit of additional buoyancy, they do increase resistance around the shoulder which the swimmer must get used to before trying to race in a wetsuit in order to avoid shoulder strain.

Example open water venue temperatures:
For reference, our training lakes at Holborough / Leybourne are usually around the 18 degree mark in early June and 20 degrees by August.  Windermere in June is typically around 16 degrees.  The SER OW venue at Chichester lake in July has been consistently around 20 degrees for the last few years, the Kent OW venue at Surrey Docks likewise.  The temperature of the Thames at Henley varies dependent on rainfall; it ranges from 16-20 degrees in June / July.