HAVE YOUR SAY
OPEN WATER SURFING Our favourite OWS sites on the web…
WRITE IN…
LIDO EXASPERATION As one who travels around the country to lidos, I get ever more
exasperated when my eff orts to swim are thwarted. Many times, especially this year, I’ve set off to visit a lido some distance from home and found it closed due to bad weather – no lifeguards, no staff , no heating, no customers – or occupied by an unannounced gala. Even if there's a website, opening hours are rarely published. The only way to fi nd out if a pool is open is to phone or visit. Sometimes, even when it's advertised as open, you’ll arrive at a pool to fi nd it shut. “No, we're not opening today”, was the cheery response I had from the receptionist in the adjoining leisure centre. So frustrating!
We’re always hearing “Use it or lose it” as regards outdoor pools, but many of us
want to use them and can’t. I expect by next year, a few more will have bit en the dust and I will get no pleasure in saying, "I told you so". So come on lidos! We outdoor swimmers want to support you, we have the money, the will, and we want you to stop making things diffi cult for us please.
Richard Nuell, by email LETTER OF THE MONTH WIN!
Got something to say about open water swimming? Tell us and you could win a Pool-Mate Pro watch, worth £129.99
DON’T OVERREACT The death of Craig Murphy in the Great North Swim was tragic and the thoughts of thousands of participants went out to his family. However calls for doctor certifi cation for every entrant next year are an overreaction.
The Great Swim series has been a godsend for those of us who don't run and cycle but seek a challenge. I'm two stone lighter and much healthier as a result of training for the Great Swims. I recognise the risks and accept that training is my responsibility. Any change to the format, or the introduction of onerous entry conditions, will be counterproductive and deter ordinary folk from a healthy pursuit. Let us swimmers swim. Kerry Buckley, by email
KEEPING IT WEIL’S I enjoy the magazine, thanks, but I am surprised how lit le is mentioned about Weil’s Disease. When I was a lad nobody was advised to canoe or take a dip without having a jab. Rats’ urine is never very pleasant – do you think more should be said about this potentially fatal infection? Jim Cooper, by email
Thanks, Jim. We have mentioned Weil’s Disease a few times, and it is a concern for swimmers, but the advice on the NHS website suggests the risk is low. There were something like 32 cases in the UK last year and almost half were acquired overseas. See
river-swimming.co.uk for more information.
NICE CATCH I followed Paul's advice from the July issue, using Rebecca Adlington as an example of how to improve the catch phase of front crawl, and I've knocked two minutes off my 1600m and 10 minutes off my 5km pool swims and feel much stronger in the catch. I'm really feeling the benefi t of the advice section and wanted to thank you for the support so far. I can't wait to take my new crawl into action in a wetsuit and set some new PBs! Barrie, Staff ordshire
SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
The Editor, H2Open, 20 Burnell Avenue, Richmond, TW10 7YE, United Kingdom Email:
info@h2openmagazine.com or go to our website:
h2openmagazine.com
Met Offi ce metoffi
ce.gov.uk Another excellent weather website is that of the Meteorological Offi ce, where most of the weather information for the UK is generated. Choose from wind, weather, rainfall or temperature measurements for your map, and get more long-range forecasts. Best bit: Sea swimmers – particularly Channel swimmers – can also look at marine conditions or the shipping forecast for up-to-date information.
XCWeather
xcweather.co.uk With forecasts from federal United States’ weather predictors, XCWeather is one of the best sources for wind/weather pat erns in the UK. A free site, with lots of information, you can use it for UK swims or check out other countries, too. Best bit: The weekly forecast gives a breakdown of everything from humidity to cloud cover, all tailored to your swimming spot.
SwimTrek holidays
swimtrek.com Not the fi rst time we've mentioned SwimTrek in the magazine, but we felt the need to fl ag up the site again, simply for its winter daydreaming potential. Drool over swim holidays in the sunshine: Egypt, Turkey, Mexico? Best bit: We've got our heart set on a seven-day swim around the British Virgin Islands. Dear Father Christmas…
15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76