Swim England

A nation swimming

Sign up to our open water forum

We are running a free open water forum at SportPark, Loughborough on Thursday 17 May 2018.

We are hosting this event to help you grow your business and increase participation in your open water sessions.

We are also keen to hear your views on how you think Swim England can provide you with the best support possible.

Is the open water forum for me?

This day starts at 10:00 and finishes at 15:30. It is aimed at:

  • Open water venue operators
  • Land owners who would like to provide open water swimming
  • Leisure operators who provide open water swimming
  • Organised open water swimming groups who would like to grow and develop

Throughout the day you will get the opportunity to hear from open water experts, network with other operators, discuss issues that are affecting you and much more.

A range of speakers will provide you with a wide variety of useful and relevant information.

Lunch will also be provided to all attendees.

If you have a question about the open water forum, please contact our open water development officer Sharon Lock.

Confirmed Speakers

Kerry Watkiss – Head of Insight

Research shows a growth in open water swimming above and beyond the growth of swimming in general. This means venues should be attracting the right audience, and meeting the needs of the user through creating a satisfying experience.

We will use behaviour change research to show how venues, and Swim England, can support and meet the growing demand for open water swimming.

Jamie Hooper – Health & Wellbeing Manager

Join us to discuss inclusive open water provision and how to overcome potential barriers to participation. It is an opportunity to share ideas and hear stories of best practice.

Elaine McNish – Head of Health & Wellbeing

This session will look at the health benefits of aquatic activities and some of the factors you should to consider when catering for people with health conditions.

Felicity Skipper – Swim Safe Project Co-ordinator

Swim Safe is a free to access UK-wide programme that helps children aged between seven and 14 stay safe when enjoying swimming outdoors. The programme was created in 2013 by Swim England and the RNLI.

This session will outline the programme, what is required from a venue, and how becoming a Swim Safe host can benefit your venue.

Helen Bowker – SH₂OUT

SH₂OUT is an exciting partnership between British Triathlon and the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK).

The project aims to promote and progress open water swimming, through providing a safety standard for open water swimming venues, events and clubs to align to.

Find out why the provision of suitable and safe open water venues is key to growing the sport and allowing more people to engage in open water swimming in Britain.

Marie Hemsworth and Simon Stevens – Institute of Swimming Training Programme Leader and Head of Awarding Body

With the number of open water clubs increasing within England, representatives from the Institute of Swimming and the Awarding Body look at why open water coaches should have a recognised qualification and why the Level 2 British Open Water Swimming qualification is a good opportunity for your venue.

Josh Hardy – Just Swim Membership Product Manager

In May 2017, Swim England launched its first membership targeting non-club swimmers. The free Just Swim membership provides swimming benefits, including tips and advice shared by the national governing body’s experts.

This session will run through the highlights from the first 12 months of the Just Swim membership, and discuss how you can get involved.

Sharon Lock – Open Water Development Officer

Sharon Lock the Open Water Development Officer for Swim England will be launching our brand new Open Water Awards for swimmers. Venues will be able to use these awards to teach swimmers the skills needed to swim effectively and safely in open water.

The venues who sign up to delivering these awards at the forum will receive a free banner or flag to promote open water swimming at their venue.

NOWCA – The Open Water Safety and Management App

NOWCA will be attending to demonstrate their recently launched Open Water Management App for venues that already run, or are thinking about running, open water swimming sessions.

Posy Musgrave – Open Water Swimathon

Posy Musgrave from The Swimathon Foundation, the charity behind the Open Water Swimathon, will lead a session on how to host an open water event.

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