Hey Swimmers!
I hope your week is going swimmingly! I’ve just discovered a brand-new open-water swimming spot here in Perth that offers a welcome refuge from our current crop of rather unwelcome “marine insurgents” 🦈 - so I’m a particularly happy bunny this week!
And as we all know, happy swimmers make for productive worker bees! 🐝
With that in mind, I’ve been busy behind the scenes this past week refining our plans for 2027 - from our Swim Smooth Experiences and Clinics to our regular Squads and 1-to-1 Video Analysis sessions.
One thing this process has really brought home to me is just how much thought, planning and individual attention goes into delivering a truly exceptional swimming experience. In fact, I’ve recently been putting together a comprehensive coaching manual for our Swim Smooth Certified Coaches, documenting everything that goes into one of our week-long Experiences - from the initial video analysis and stroke correction to the carefully structured training sessions, open-water adventures and individual follow-ups.
And looking back over the wonderful feedback from our 2026 Experiences in Lanzarote, Mallorca and Crete, one thing became abundantly clear:
A great swimming holiday is one thing. A swimming holiday that genuinely transforms the way you swim is something else entirely.
So, this week, I thought I’d take you behind the scenes and show you what actually happens during a Swim Smooth Experience - and why so many swimmers tell us it’s unlike any swimming holiday they’ve experienced before.
Because here’s the thing...
Imagine spending a week somewhere beautiful, swimming in crystal-clear seas, enjoying fantastic food, meeting wonderful people and sharing a few laughs over dinner. Sounds like the perfect swimming holiday, doesn’t it?
And it absolutely can be.
There are some fantastic swimming holidays out there, offering memorable adventures in spectacular locations. We’ve enjoyed plenty of those ourselves!
But here’s a question worth asking:
What if you could come home from that holiday not only with wonderful memories and new friends, but also swimming fundamentally better than when you arrived - and, crucially, understanding WHY?
That’s the thinking behind our Swim Smooth Experiences.
Over the past year, we’ve welcomed swimmers from around the world to Lanzarote, Mallorca and Crete. From accomplished athletes swimming at 1:20/100m to developing swimmers at 2:45/100m, the range of abilities has been extraordinary.
And that’s rather the point.
At Swim Smooth, we’ve always believed in coaching the swimmer, not the stroke. Your swimming history, your physiology, your goals and your personality all influence what will help you improve.
So, what actually happens during one of these weeks? Come along for the ride!
Day 1: The camera never lies (but it can be surprisingly kind!)
After arriving at our beautiful resort, meeting your fellow swimmers and settling in, it’s time for something that many people find both fascinating and slightly nerve-racking.
We film your swimming. Properly.
Underwater, above water, from different angles, looking at how you actually move through the water rather than how you think you move.
This is where the magic starts.
And this is so much more than simply watching a video of yourself swimming!
We take the time to carefully dissect your stroke, looking at everything from your body position, breathing and alignment to your catch mechanics, propulsion, kick and stroke rhythm. It’s super comprehensive - bring snacks!!
Using above- and below-water footage, slow-motion playback and detailed coaching explanations, we help you connect what you’re feeling in the water with what’s actually happening. Often, the two are surprisingly different!
Crucially, we’re looking for the root cause of your inefficiencies, rather than simply treating the symptoms.
A sinking leg position, for example, might have very little to do with your kick and everything to do with what’s happening at the front of your stroke. And because we analyse everyone’s swimming together, you’ll often learn just as much from watching your fellow swimmers as you do from your own footage.
It’s this level of individual insight that transforms the video analysis from an interesting exercise into the foundation for every stroke correction we make throughout the week.
As Elizabeth from Switzerland commented after Lanzarote:
“Our video taken on our 1st evening was of a better quality and very well exploited as an educational tool. It was especially interesting being able to interact while watching everyone else’s video.”
There’s something enormously reassuring about discovering that even the fastest swimmers have technical challenges, and that everyone has something to learn.
By dinner, the conversations have already started. People who were strangers a few hours earlier are discussing catch mechanics, breathing patterns and the peculiar things their legs seem to do underwater!
Day 2: From seeing the problem to FEELING the solution
This is where a Swim Smooth Experience really starts to distinguish itself.
Video analysis is brilliant, but identifying a problem is only half the battle.
The real skill lies in helping a swimmer physically experience the correction.
During our Crete Experience, Freya from Belgium had a relatively low arm recovery and a slow stroke rhythm. Through carefully selected Broken Arrow drills, we helped her discover greater freedom through her shoulders.
But there was a catch!
When she concentrated on lifting her recovery arm, her stroke became even slower, introducing an unwanted pause at the front.
So we added a FINIS Tempo Trainer, helping her coordinate the improved recovery with a more continuous rhythm.
Suddenly, the whole stroke flowed more naturally.
Then we asked her to deliberately return to her original technique so she could feel the difference.
That’s an important part of how we coach: don’t just tell someone what good technique should feel like. Help them discover it for themselves.
As Freya subsequently explained:
“The progress I made in such a short time is incredible. The video analysis was super interesting, but the stroke correction is the point where you truly make the change to your swimming.”
And she absolutely nailed it.
Day 3: Finding YOUR rhythm, not somebody else’s
One of the biggest misconceptions in swimming is that longer strokes are always better.
They’re not.
During our Crete camp, we conducted a fascinating experiment using Tempo Trainers to explore different stroke rates.
Sarah, a very accomplished swimmer, naturally swam at approximately 69 strokes per minute with a beautifully coordinated two-beat kick.
When we deliberately slowed her to 41 strokes per minute, something extraordinary happened.
Her pace dropped from approximately 1:22 to 1:50/100m, and she needed a much more forceful six-beat kick to compensate for the loss of momentum.
She was swimming nearly 30 seconds per 100m slower, despite doing considerably more work with her legs!
This wasn’t proof that everyone should swim with a faster stroke rate. It was a wonderful demonstration of why an apparently long, graceful stroke isn’t necessarily an efficient one.
For other swimmers, a small adjustment of just two or three strokes per minute was enough to change the sensation of their swimming.
The lesson?
Efficiency isn’t about looking like somebody else. It’s about discovering what works for YOU.
And because we have the time, tools and coaching expertise to explore these differences individually, every swimmer leaves with a much clearer understanding of their own technique.
Day 4: A little Red Mist, anyone?
Of course, technique is only part of the equation.
You also need the fitness and pacing skills to maintain that improved stroke when the going gets tough.
Enter our famous (or perhaps infamous!) Red Mist endurance session.
Using each swimmer’s Critical Swim Speed (CSS), we establish individually appropriate training paces and progressively challenge their ability to sustain those paces as recovery becomes more demanding.
The beauty of this approach is that swimmers of very different abilities can train alongside one another, each working at an intensity appropriate to them.
It’s not about who finishes first.
It’s about learning to control your effort, maintain your technique and discover what you’re genuinely capable of.
And yes, sometimes there’s a little bit of suffering involved!
As Tim from Mallorca put it:
“Real push but a realistic and well-informed push. I benefited most from being pulled out of my comfort zone.”
Importantly, we don’t simply prescribe the same distance to everyone. Training volume, experience, fatigue and individual goals all influence how we adapt the session.
Because the objective isn’t to see who can survive the most swimming in a week.
It’s to help you become a better swimmer for the months and years ahead.
Day 5: Taking it into the beautiful blue
Now imagine applying those new skills somewhere truly spectacular.
Perhaps you’re swimming along the dramatic volcanic coastline of Lanzarote, enjoying the turquoise waters of Mallorca or watching the sunrise over the Mediterranean in Crete.
These are the moments that make a swimming holiday so special.
But we’re still coaching.
Sighting, drafting, navigation, group swimming, adapting your stroke to the conditions - these are all skills that can be practised in the open water.
And just as importantly, it’s an opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasure of swimming somewhere wonderful with people who share your passion.
We always adapt the open-water programme to the conditions and the swimmers. Sometimes that means changing the route, shortening a swim or moving a session to the pool.
Good coaching isn’t about rigidly following an itinerary. It’s about making the right decisions for the people in front of you.
And often, it’s during these swims, over breakfast afterwards or around the dinner table that some of the strongest friendships begin.
Day 6: Putting all the pieces together
By now, something quite remarkable has usually happened.
Swimmers who arrived with a vague sense that their technique wasn’t quite right can often explain precisely what they’ve been working on, why it matters and how to practise it.
We revisit individual stroke corrections, compare familiar and improved movements, consolidate pacing skills and discuss how to carry everything forward.
Consider Peter from Switzerland, who had struggled with his catch for some time.
Through video analysis and carefully designed contrast exercises, we identified how excessively spread fingers were making it difficult for him to establish a stable hold on the water.
By experimenting with finger position and feedback paddles, Peter could actually feel the difference in his propulsion and body position. Watch Peter at the start of this video of our Stroke Contrasts set on Day 6 in Crete:
He described the resulting feedback as the best he’d ever received:
"I had been working on my very low pull through score for a very long time without actually finding a fix. The video analysis and the interview helped me a lot to make progress; overall this made for the best feedback I've ever had."
And that’s what we’re aiming for.
Not a hundred technical instructions.
One or two meaningful changes, understood deeply enough to practise independently.
Day 7: Goodbye? Not quite!
The final day is about reflection, consolidation and making sure the progress doesn’t stop when the holiday ends.
We discuss individual priorities, training structure, appropriate pacing and how to continue developing through the Swim Smooth GURU, with its technique resources, structured sessions and training plans.
Everyone should leave understanding what to work on next, rather than simply hoping their improved stroke somehow sticks.
As Rachel from Mallorca beautifully explained:
“It’s not just go for a week and goodbye, it’s the start of the new swim you! Trace your swim frustrations back to the root cause and get the tools to address them long term.”
And then, of course, there are the farewells.
Although, truthfully, they rarely feel like proper goodbyes.
The bit we never quite anticipated...
Here’s something we’re especially proud of.
Every single WhatsApp group we’ve created for our Swim Smooth Experiences is still active today. Every one.
These groups were originally set up to help swimmers communicate before, during and immediately after their camps.
But months and sometimes years later, they’re still sharing training updates, race results, encouragement, jokes and plans to meet again.
That tells us something rather lovely.
We’ve created more than a series of coaching camps.
We’ve helped build an international community of swimmers who genuinely care about one another.
As Remy from Switzerland observed after Crete:
“It strikes me how fast a bond forms between us, making our friendship last far beyond just a week. It’s far more than just time in the water—it’s about shared experiences.”
And perhaps the most meaningful endorsement comes from Roy, who attended Crete with a CSS of approximately 2:45/100m:
“Although I was the weakest swimmer, I still received lots of attention. That didn’t happen with other camps. Don’t be worried that you’re not good enough; you will get better as a result of this week.”
That is exactly the environment we’ve always wanted to create.
A place where accomplished swimmers inspire developing swimmers, where everyone receives meaningful attention, and where nobody feels that they don’t belong.
So, is it a swimming holiday or a swimming camp?
We’d like to think it’s the very best of both.
Beautiful destinations. Wonderful accommodation. Fantastic food. Spectacular open-water swimming. Plenty of laughs and friendships that last.
But with something else at its heart.
A carefully structured, genuinely individualised coaching programme that gives you the understanding, confidence and tools to transform your swimming.
As Emma from Mallorca put it rather wonderfully:
“Imagine getting world-class tailored coaching, the most beautiful pool you can dream of, crystal clear seas, unlimited delicious food AND it all still feeling like a holiday.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Where will your next Swim Smooth Experience take you?
Following the popularity of our 2026 Experiences, and with both Mallorca camps for 2027 already fully booked, we’ve added two exciting new destinations to the calendar.
🇪🇬 Soma Bay, Egypt | 17–23 January 2027
Six nights in a beautiful Red Sea destination, with full-board accommodation, a fantastic 50m pool, wonderful open-water opportunities and our complete Swim Smooth coaching programme.
From €1,995 per solo swimmer.
🇪🇸 Playitas, Fuerteventura | 2–8 March 2027
Six nights at one of the Canary Islands’ best-known sporting resorts, combining a superb 50m pool, volcanic island scenery, open-water adventures and the same detailed, individualised Swim Smooth coaching.
From €2,495 per solo swimmer.
Both Experiences include six nights’ accommodation, full board and our carefully structured coaching programme, with places deliberately limited to preserve the individual attention that makes these weeks so special.
Explore the upcoming Swim Smooth Experiences and secure your place:
Because a great swimming holiday gives you memories to treasure.
A Swim Smooth Experience gives you those memories, wonderful new friendships, and the tools to become a better swimmer long after you’ve unpacked your suitcase.
Swim Smooth — Coach the swimmer, not the stroke.
Your Coach, Paul.