As the popularity of open-water swimming grows, increasing numbers of swimmers are seeking out like-minded enthusiasts
who share their love of the sport. A gaggle of friends can easily morph into a group, which in turn can evolve into a club that needs to be formalised. And, just as individuals benefi t from clubbing together, so too can clubs benefi t from guidance and sometimes insurance coverage by linking with a larger institution. For pool-based clubs in the UK the traditional route has been through the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) but there are alternatives that some open water swimming clubs may fi nd more suitable, especially as there is no governing body that deals exclusively with open-water swimming clubs, and so there is no clear-cut path to set ing one up. Safety is the main motivation for those wishing to make things more offi cial. One such club is the Henley Open Water Swim Club (HOWSC),
which began offi cially registering members in January 2012. Tom Kean, co-founder of the club, explains that there was already a group that was regularly swimming together, but they feared they could be associated with people who were less careful. An incident involving a drunken lone swimmer, for example, could have the potential to tar all swimmers on the river with the same brush. And so Kean, along with fellow co-founder Jeremy Laming, wanted to make their group more formal. “We want to bring together people in a safe environment,” says Kean. Instead of the ASA, HOWSC registered the club with the British
Triathlon Federation (BTF), which provides them with public liability insurance. They followed the lead of the Chalkwell Redcaps, which set up a club with the BTF at the end of 2010. Like HOWSC, the organisers of the Chalkwell Redcaps had the same concerns over safety. At the fi rst meeting of the Redcaps in the spring of 2010, there were 14 swimmers and from there the numbers grew rapidly. “When all these people started showing up I realised that it needed to get more serious,” says Iain Keenan, the chairman of the club. The club introduced liability waiver forms, but the local foreshore manager advised Keenan that if there were more than 50 swimmers, they would have to get public liability insurance. By the time the club offi cially registered with the BTF, it had capped its membership at 105. That number has now increased to 150, and Keenan feels that it is necessary to grow the club steadily to ensure that they – and the local lifeguards – can cope with so many swimmers in the water at the same time. Each member pays a membership fee of £10, which contributes to the BTF registration and covers the insurance excess. Club funds have also been used to purchase kayaks and donate money to the Chalkwell Lifeguards, who provide cover for club swims. Keenan says that he found the registration process with the BTF
straightforward, and because it is a triathlon organisation it is used to dealing with open-water swimmers who do not have access to a pool, changing facilities or a clubhouse.
KEEPING BELOW THE RADAR For some, constitutions, commit ees and paperwork can take the fun out of swimming with other people, which is why some clubs opt to steer clear of meetings and admin altogether. Rather than forming an offi cial club that is affi liated with a larger organisation – such as the ASA or British Triathlon Federation (
britishtriathlon.org) – another route is to stay below the radar and keep things informal.
Henley Open Water Swim Club was founded to off er a safe environment for swimmers to train and develop their skills
This is the approach taken by the Social Swimming Club. “It is very informal,” says co-founder, Linus Mortlock, who explains that there is no need for swimmers to register with the club. Mortlock argues that formalising the group into a club with a captain and a treasurer could take the fun out of it. The Social Swimming Club diff ers from other clubs as its members swim in a controlled and closed environment. The club’s ‘spiritual home’ is the Delph Watersports Centre in Lancashire, an old quarry that is also used by scuba divers. The quarry has its own rules and so the club doesn’t need to impose any of its own. Swimmers at the quarry have to pay a fee, sign a waiver, wear a wetsuit and have a buddy. The number of people who meet in the Social Swimming Club is also manageable. It started as a group of fi ve friends and has now grown into a group of about 20 people. Since they are all friends of friends, the group does not have the same safety and liability concerns as larger clubs.
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