Open Water Programs

Once per Week, Six Weeks
90-Minutes per Session

Walden Pond, Concord, MA
2008 full

Niles Beach, Gloucester, MA
2008 full

Summer 2009 schedule will be
available in early winter.

The Breakwater Sports Open Water Program teaches open water swimming for triathletes, aquathletes or others who are new to open water swimming. All sessions are in cold, deep water. You will need a wetsuit most days. You may want two caps or a neoprene cap early in the season. Arrive early to warm up, suit up and get in the water at the starting time.

This program is NOT for beginning swimmers. You must be able to swim 400 yards.

Topics covered include: open water safety, starts and exits, sighting, drafting, turns, and strategy; how to drill and practice for open water swimming; transitions for triathlon and aquathlon...

There are a limited number of programs each summer, and they tend to fill early.

About Cold Water Acclimation (it's not rocket science) Ever jump into the cold water and feel like you cannot breathe and cannot get your face wet? That's normal. It's your built-in survival response doing just what it is supposed to do. But if you are going to compete in cold open water, you will need to de-program that response. You can start at home, at the sink. Every time you finish brushing your teeth, splash cold water onto your face. Try to feel where you tense up, and try to relax and release that tension. You will be surprised at how quickly that cold water stops being such a shock to your system. When relaxing with cold water on the face feels easy, move your acclimation program from the sink to the shower! End your shower by turning off the hot water. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend in the cold shower. Not only will you be conditioning your mind and body to NOT panic in reaction to colder temperatures, you will actually be changing your body's thermoregulatory responses to the cold. The result is that you will be more relaxed in the cold water, and you will swim better...