Surf Swimming: A Competitor's Perspective*

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INTRODUCTION

Triathlon events, particularly in Australia, often require athletes to have good surf swimming skills as the swim leg takes place at the beach or in the open water. The National Championships in Mooloolabah, QLD is a prime example of this.

Competitive surf swimming, unlike pool swimming, is a great leveler. It is a sport in which the fastest swimmer doesn't always win. There are many reasons for this, which will be covered later.

This article assumes the reader is already familiar with general and specific training drills and programs (i.e. training schedules, stroke technique and general physical conditioning).

Much has been written for surf swimmers about stroke. Suffice to say, what is considered a good stroke in the pool, may not necessarily be an effective surf swim technique. In fact the perfect style of top-level pool swimmers is often upset by the surf. This is only natural, due to the turbulent conditions experienced in the surf. The same theory also applies to kayak and surf ski paddlers.

There are many variables that allow a competent pool swimmer to become a great surf swimmer. In the pool you just swim: usually indoors, and in separate lanes. It's very civilised. In the surf you have to contend with:

• Climatic changes
• Cold water
• Waves
• Wind chop
• Currents (rips)
• Sandbanks and
• Jostling from other competitors
• Diving

Is it any wonder that good pool swimmers can take some time to become accustomed to surf swimming? Some never make it at all. Some have been recognised still-water champions, while others have been relative "unknowns".

From 1984 to 1983 the following open belt and surf champions never represented Australia in the pool, yet all defeated Australian still-water representatives: Stuart Taylor, Richard Ford, Stuart Dutton and Gary Watson.

The one thing they had in common was that they worked on the things that pool swimmers didn't: RUNNING, WADING and SURF SKILLS.

Leading pool swimmers train twice a day in the pool. The leading surf swimmers (i.e. those not up to international still water standard) will spend their second session either at the beach, in the gym or out running.

The skills developed in these sessions will come to the fore when:

a. There is a sizeable surf

b. There’s a long sandbank and/or

c. The weather turns nasty

In particular, these competitors' time at the beach spent studying rips and practicing wading and catching waves, will give them a decided edge over the pool swimmer.

You may take it for granted, but the surf race is a collection of many skills, and is broken into the following five sections and components ‑ all with their own rules to be followed for success:

1. Pre‑race (psychological, course familiarisation, warm-up)
2. Start – (wade, porpoise, wave-diving)
3. Race (buoy turn, return swim, body surfing)
4. Finish 
5. Psychological

The physical skills of wading, surfing and surf knowledge are vital to your success. Without developing them you will never reach your full potential.

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