Swimming Guides - OpenWaterHQ

Pros and Cons of Swimming With Fins

Swimming with fins is an activity you can do whether you’re a recreational swimmer or a competitive one. The long ...

Is Swimming With Fins Cheating? Avoid Breaking the Rules!

The introduction and constant advancement of sports gear used in competitions is a subject of much debate. For instance, Nike ...

How to Wear Swimming Cap and Goggles

Putting on a swim cap seems easy at first, until you try to do it. Then it’s an uncomfortable, hair-pulling, ...

Mirrored Swim Goggles vs Clear: Which Is Better?

When selecting which pair of goggles you want to buy, you might be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options ...

Are Swimming Goggles Dangerous? What to Be Wary Of

I remember in my childhood being told by my parents that swimming goggles could put too much pressure around my ...

Are Goggles Necessary for Swimming?

Whether you’re swimming indoors or outdoors, chances are every single swimmer you encounter is wearing a pair of goggles. It’s ...

Are There Any Swim Cap Alternatives?

I used to hate wearing swim caps. I always struggled with putting them on, I had issues with them tugging ...

Benefits of Wearing a Swim Cap – Swim Like a Pro

Whether you’re a casual swimmer or a competitive one, a private pool owner or a public pool goer, chances are ...

Do Swimming Caps Keep Water Out of Your Ears?

Don’t you hate it when water gets in your ears? I don’t just mean a little bit on the outside; ...

The Disadvantages of Not Wearing Swimming Caps: Explained

Based on the fact that all competitive swimmers wear swim caps, clearly there is some kind of advantage that wearing ...

Open water swimming is pretty self-explanatory; it is simply swimming in any outdoor bodies of water including the open ocean, lakes, and even rivers. You can do it casually or competitively, such as in triathlons.

At the highest level, you can compete in prestigious competitions such as the FINA World Aquatics Championships, the FINA 10 km Marathon Swimming World Cup, and even at the Olympic Games. It is a discipline acknowledged across the world, as there are official events worldwide.

Wearing a wetsuit is highly recommended due to the risks involved with open water swimming. In competition, wetsuits are either permitted or restricted based on the distance of the swim and the water temperature.

In this section, we have compiled a list of all our guides related to open water swimming.