🔷 Ready to Head Outdoors?

Here's our guide for getting you ready for the open water swimming season

Hey Swimmers

I was asked earlier this week to be the 973rd guest on one of the longest-running triathlon blogs, New Zealand-based IM Talk, which I thought you might be interested in tuning into. This was my 6th time on the show (you can listen to the others here, with the first stretching back exactly 13yrs ago!):

As the host, John Newsom (no ‘e’ and no relation), was interested in talking about open water swimming camps, this proved to be a bit of a prompt to remind me that you guys in the northern hemisphere are of course just starting to turn the corner with some warmer water temperatures and likely thinking about donning your wetsuit for the first time:

Keen for a dip at 13ºC - not many Aussies would say yes, that’s for sure!

So, as spring arrives across the northern hemisphere, the open water and triathlon season is just around the corner. Whether you're preparing for your first outdoor swim of the year or gearing up for race season, now is the ideal time to shift your training focus.

Many swimmers find the transition from pool to open water surprisingly challenging—navigating currents, dealing with limited visibility, and swimming in close quarters with others can all take time to adapt to. But by introducing some focused open water preparation into your pool sessions now, you’ll be well ahead of the curve once it’s time to ditch the lane ropes and head into the great outdoors.

In this guide, I’ll share practical techniques and training strategies you can implement right away. These will help you swim straighter, sight more efficiently, and make use of drafting—transforming you into a more confident and capable open water swimmer.

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Swim Straighter with Better Sighting

One of the most important skills in open water swimming is staying on course. At Swim Smooth, we’ve equipped swimmers with GPS trackers under their swim caps to monitor their paths. The results? Many athletes swim 10% to 20% further than necessary due to veering off course—an easy way to lose valuable time and energy.

Sighting effectively is essential. Rather than sighting and breathing in the same motion—which disrupts your rhythm and causes your legs to drop—try sighting just before you turn to breathe. Lift your eyes slightly, spot your target, then rotate to the side for a breath. It may take practice to get it fluid, but this small adjustment can make a big difference:

How often you sight will depend on how straight you swim naturally. The straighter your stroke, the less you’ll need to lift your head. Focus on alignment drills to improve this, such as side-kicking with fins and the lead arm extended, switching sides every 25 metres. These help correct crossover and encourage a "gun-barrel" straight trajectory through the water.

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The Tactical Edge of Bilateral Breathing

Bilateral breathing—being able to breathe to both sides—not only promotes stroke symmetry but also gives you a major tactical advantage. In open water, the ability to switch sides can help you monitor competitors, adapt to wind or swell conditions, and avoid glare from the sun. Even if you don’t use bilateral breathing during a race, the training benefits it offers in the pool are significant.

Not convinced? Have a read through of a classic Swim Smooth Blog from 2014:

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Master the Art of Drafting

Drafting is one of the most powerful tools in open water racing. Swimming behind or to the side of another athlete can reduce your energy expenditure by up to 38%, giving you a chance to conserve energy and even out-sprint competitors at the end of the race.

There are two primary drafting positions:

• Directly behind a swimmer, on their toes.

• To the side, with your head level with their hips or belly button.

Drafting to the side takes more skill and confidence, as it requires closer proximity, but the energy savings are often greater than swimming directly behind.

Practise these skills in the pool with a small group. Swim in threes, with a lead swimmer and two others drafting on each side. Rotate positions and gradually increase the pace. Expect to get dropped occasionally—but work on regaining the draft rather than dropping back completely. This builds the ability to maintain close contact even when things get competitive.

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Embrace the Chaos

If you’re new to open water or accustomed to structured lane swimming, you may find the physical closeness of racing—arms flying, legs kicking, the occasional bump—unsettling. That’s completely normal. But it’s also why it's important to simulate these conditions in training. Incorporate close-quarter swimming into your weekly routine. With practice, the experience will become less intimidating and even enjoyable.

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Make Open Water Skills a Regular Focus

If your goal is to race well in open water, don’t let your skills stagnate during the off-season. Work on swimming straight, efficient sighting, and strategic drafting. These are not just survival tactics—they're performance multipliers.

Here in Perth, we run a dedicated open water skills session year-round, in the pool. It’s packed with fun, teamwork, and strategy—and it’s consistently the most popular session of the week. Adding this type of session to your schedule not only keeps things fresh, it sharpens the exact skills that will help you excel once you hit the open water.

Here’s 9 great open water skills sessions you can try in your pool with a mate or two this weekend:

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Start Practising Now for a Strong Season Ahead

With open water season fast approaching, now is the moment to hone your skills and get comfortable with the demands of swimming outdoors. Focusing on straight-line swimming, smart sighting, and energy-saving tactics like drafting will not only boost your confidence but also your performance come race day.

Incorporating these elements into your weekly pool routine—even just once per week—adds variety, challenge, and a sense of purpose to your training. At Swim Smooth, we see time and again how these sessions help athletes feel more in control, connected, and competitive when they finally get back into open water.

So don’t wait for summer—start practising now and enjoy the payoff all season long.

Your Coach,

Paul