Knowing the Conditions

Knowing the water conditions on race day is critical for open water swimmers and triathletes. You can save a huge amount of time by using currents and rips to your advantage.

Last year I raced 15 marathons in 10 different countries.  The general rule of thumb was to follow the swimmers from the country in which we were racing.  If we raced in Canada, we’d follow the Canadian swimmers; if we raced in Argentina we’d follow the Argentinian swimmers.  Why do you think we would have done that? They have all the local knowledge. They have all swum there hundreds of times before and those of us from overseas hadn’t.

Asking lifeguards or locals about the conditions is normally a great way to learn more about where you’ll be swimming.  Some questions you might want to ask are:

1.      Is there a sweep or current?

2.      Are there are rips?

3.      Is the tide on its way in or out?

4.      Are there any sand banks?

Before every race do a warm up swim so you can experience the conditions first-hand.  When you’re in the water, pick a landmark on the beach and just float for a couple of minutes to see which way the sweep or current is going.  From there you’ll know where to position yourself on the start line and what line you’ll take throughout the race.

Obviously if there is a sweep running from left to right you’ll want to start on the left-hand side of the start line.  If there is no sweep, but a rip on the right side of the start line, you’ll want to start on the right-hand side and have the rip take you out past the breakers.

Using the power of the water is a smart way to race – and all it takes is a little bit of preparation.

See you on the beach!

Trent Grimsey

English Channel Record Holder

3 Time Australian Open Water Champion