Open Water Swimming – 2023 – Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club

The 2023 season is now officially here so get your wetsuits dusted off, and watch out for those that have inexplicably shrunk since last season. How does that always seem to happen?

We will be ready to go Wednesdays from 3rd May 6-8pm, then Saturdays from 6th May 8-10am until the end of August, then Saturdays only until 23rd September.

Thank you to all swimmers who supported our sessions in 2022, but especially to those of you who donned a yellow vest to Swim Manage or help out, and here’s looking forward to another great season. And of course, I will get the heating sorted for this year!

Di – your OWS manager

Open Water Swimming Information

Tri-Anglia offer open water swimming sessions for club members in Whiltingham Country Park’s Great Broad. Sessions run every Saturday morning and Wednesday evening from the first Saturday in May until the last Saturday of August and then just Saturday mornings in September.

This page outlines the normal operating procedure for the Whitlingham Adventure (WA) provided Open Water Swim Sessions for Tri-Anglia Triathlon Club to be held during 2023. This page should be used in conjunction with WA Emergency Action Plan.

2023 Procedures: How To Book

Book Your Slot – IMPORTANT

All swims must be pre-booked and paid for on the website. Go to the Training -> Adult Training Sessions Page then click on the green ATTEND button.

Numbers will only be limited by the kayak cover in place. At busy times swimmers may have to wait for an earlier swimmer to exit the water before they can start their swim, but we will do our best to get the numbers right.

Online bookings for the month will be opened up, before the end of the month for the next block. Once sessions are full there will be a waiting list so if you sign up and then decide to cancel you may do so without charge up to 6pm the night before your swim. Keep your eyes on your Junk/spam email inbox as a lot of our automated waiting list confirmations are going to spam!

I will always aim to post on the club Facebook page when sessions are open to book.

There may on some dates be spaces available on the day, but this can never be guaranteed. The only way to guarantee yourself a swim is to sign up in advance. Pre-booked swimmers will always take priority.

Session Costs & Payment

Each swim costs £5.50 and the payment will be initiated following members booking up for a swim. Payment for sessions will be automatically taken via GoCardless Direct Debit. You will be notified by email that a payment will be attempted. Please ensure you have set up your GoCardless Direct Debit payment for training sessions. You can check to see if you have a valid Direct Debit set up by going to your Session Payments page.

2023 Procedures: What To Do On Arrival

Location and Parking

The swim starts from Whitlingham Adventure (WA), Trowse, Norwich, NR14 8TR, which is the series of cabins under the large white canopy at the end of the largest Broad.

Members who drive to Whitlingham are encouraged to park in the Whitlingham Country Park car parks rather than on Whitlingham Lane. In fact parking on Whitlingham Lane within the park will incur a fine and parking elsewhere on Whitlingham Lane leads to congestion. Tri-Anglia members are able to buy a year’s cark parking at a discounted rate of £45, enquires to RCP@rcpparking.com. You must be able to show proof of current membership.

For more information: Parking (whitlinghamcountrypark.com)

Changing

Please change before signing in, do not leave any equipment in the changing rooms. There is limited space on the deck to leave personal belongings, so please be mindful of others and their space. Put your bag in a clear area / locker / table space on the deck.

Check in and check out

Once ready to swim go to the sign in desk, hand over your membership card and collect a numbered wristband which must be worn at all times whilst in the water.

All swimmers must have their membership card which will be exchanged for a numbered wristband and placed in the correspondingly numbered pouch in the swimmers file. Upon exiting the water the swimmer must immediately return the band and retrieve their membership card. This will enable the OWS manager to check all swimmers in and out of the water and ensure that we hold appropriate medical and emergency contact details for those in the lake

NO CARD = NO SWIM

Check out the safety information / water temperature on the board. If you are new to the lake, make yourself known to the TA Swim Manager who will be able to talk you through normal operating procedures.

Put on your swim hat and enter the water from the deck.

What you will need

You need your:

membership card,
Wetsuit (or exemption form)
a red, purple, bright (neon) green or white swimming hat (SEE SWIM HAT SECTION FOR WHICH COLOUR TO BRING)

Wetsuits:

Are compulsory, unless a signed exemption form is in place for the individual. Copies of all completed exemption forms are held in the TA OWS file during the season. The non-wetsuit swimmers will be provided with details of water temperature at sign-in. Water must be 14 degrees or over for a non- wetsuit swim to be permitted. The non-wet suit swimmer must wear a bright neon green hat.

Any swimmer signed off in 2022 will be carried forward to 2023, all others swimmers will need to register as a non-wetsuit swimmer.

wetsuit-exemption-form-2023 Download

Swimming Caps:

A swim cap must be worn when swimming in the lake with specific colours indicating the following:

Red swim hat indicates a regular wetsuit swimmer partaking in normal swim session activities.
Purple indicates juniors and novice open water swimmers.
White swim hat indicates a participant within a training race.
Bright green swim hat indicates an approved non-wetsuit swimmer.
Other colours to be used to indicate other special requirements such as tethered swimmers and visually impaired swimmers. Use of other colours to be communicated to the WA Duty Manager by the TA Swim Manager.
Members should bring their own hat if possible.

Swimming Caps can now be bought via contactless payment on deck for £6

In The Water – Swimming Etiquette

Enjoy your swim and be considerate of other swimmers. Always leave space between yourself and other swimmers.

If you’re fast and skilled, use your skills and judgement to pass others wide and reduce your kick temporarily, give others space, don’t cut people up. The lake is large and there is space for everyone to enjoy their swim at their own pace.

Don’t draft – spread wide.

Do not stop or gather by the buoys, if you do need to stop, please swim out of the loop slightly to not to become an obstacle.

If at any time you are in trouble, feel anxious or panic, put yourself on your back to float and wave your arms or call to attract the attention of the safety team on kayaks, the safety boat or watching from the pontoon – someone will come over to you and offer the necessary assistance.

In order to respect the safety of the WA team we ask you to swim within your limits. Take it easy and enjoy being in the water.

At the end of your swim exit the water at the deck and go straight to the sign in/out desk, return your band, and collect your membership card. A warm shower is often a good idea especially in lower temperatures.

Tea and coffee will be available for you to make in Cabin 8, but please bring your own cup.

You will still be charged if you fail to attend. When you book a slot to swim, you are taking someone else’s chance.

OWS General Inforamtion

Dates of Tri-Anglia OWS 2023

Sessions will take place Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings between the first Wednesday in May and the last Saturday in August plus the first three Saturday’s in September, dependant upon water quality and temperature.

WA is booked to Tri-Anglia from 07:30 until 10:30 on Saturdays with access to the water between 08:00 and 10:00; and from 17:30 until 20:30 on Wednesdays with access to the water between 18:00 and 20:00 (or dusk, whichever is first).

Itinerary for each session as follows:

TA OWS manager and assistants to arrive and set up, meet with Duty Manager. DM to advise of water temperature and any water quality issues. (Saturday 07:30, Wednesday 17:30)
Kayak support will begin escorting last swimmers towards the deck prior to finish times in order to ensure the water is clear by 10.00 / 20.00, please do not attempt to start a “loop” if you think you may be close to the cut off time, choose a shorter option.
TA OWS co-ordinator and WA Duty manager review and close session (Saturday 10:20, Wednesday 20:20)
TA to be clear of the deck (Saturday 10:30, Wednesday 20:30)

Briefing:

All swimmers will be briefed as they sign in. First time lake swimmers must identify themselves and will have the rules, the course and safety procedures explained to them. The usual briefing information will include: any change of course, any unusual water quality or temperature, if there is a threat of lightening what the emergency procedure is.

Swim Courses

Volunteers

We could not run any of our sessions without you as volunteers. Each session needs a swim manager for the duration of the whole session (Wednesday 5.30 – 8.30, and Saturday 7.30-10.30) and 2 helpers, half a session each (Wednesday 5.45-7.00 & 7.00-8.15, Saturday 7.45-9.00 & 9.00-10.15).

You will be rewarded with a free swim and the opportunity to gossip with everyone who has to cross your path. Full instructions can be emailed to you in advance, and all paperwork is available on site. Please offer your services to Di at OWS@tri-anglia.co.uk or sign up via the OWS Volunteer rota page.

Water Evacuation Procedure:

If it proves necessary to evacuate swimmers from the lake, then the alarm will be sounded. The alarm will be continuous sounding of whistles of and/or horns. Swimmers on hearing the alarm, MUST make their way to the South bank (or return to WA deck or boat launch if closer), leave the water and walk back to the OEC to be counted.

Junior open water swimming rules and procedures

Junior swimmers who are new to open water must report to the OWS manager. All new juniors must swim with an adult. Junior swimmers who are new to open water and their adult swim companion must swim together and the Junior must wear a purple swim hat.

Once the junior has gained open water swim experience and confidence they will be able to swim without their adult partner. This is at the discretion of the OWS manager, but an appropriate adult must remain on the deck at all times.

The TA swim manager has the right to refuse any junior to swim.

Attachments

Risk Assessments from Whitlingham Adventure available on request.

End To End Swims 2023

The End to End provides a rare opportunity to swim the full length of Whitlingham Broad, which is just under one mile.

Each End to End follows the same format and timings, with two mass starts, each with their own pre-swim briefing. This allows everyone the opportunity to swim E2E if they wish.

The E2E swim is roughly 2 miles long. You can if you wish exit the lake at the far end, after one mile and walk back to the WA. Shoes will be transported for you to the far end of the lake.

The WA/sign-in desk will be open from 7.45am.

Safety cover moves with the pack of swimmers, this means you will only be permitted to start swimming with one of the mass starts. We cannot allow any exceptions to this rule. So please ensure you get to the lake in good time to sign-in, change and attend the relevant swim briefing.

Swim Start Times

8.15am for any swimmers who wish to allow 35 minutes + to swim a mile. If you wish to join this start please ensure you have signed in by 8.00am and that you are ready to listen to the 8.10am briefing.

8.30am for swimmers aiming for sub 35 minute miles. Swim brief will take place at 8.25am.

All swimmers must be out of the lake by 10am.

FAQs

The swim starts from Whitlingham Adventure (WA), Trowse, Norwich, NR14 8TR, which is the series of cabins under the large white canopy at the end of the largest Broad

There are two pay and display car parks off Whitlingham Lane. Tri-Anglia members are able to buy a year’s car parking at a discounted rate seasonpass@rcpparking.com . If you expect to make several visits in the year to the country park it can work out cheaper to buy a discounted annual pass than to pay per visit.

Saturdays – WA is open for signing in and changing from 07:50. Access to the water is available from 08:00 until 10:00. The centre closes to Tri-Anglia members at 10:30.

Wednesdays – WA is open for signing in and changing from 17:50. Access to the water is available from 18:00 until 20:00 (or dusk, whichever arrives soonest). The Centre closes to Tri-Anglia members at 20:30.

No, sorry, if you have not got your card you will not be allowed to swim. You need to allow two weeks for delivery of your membership card once you’ve joined the club; don’t leave it until the Friday night before the Saturday OWS session to join! This is our safety system to ensure we know who is in the lake, please do not ask to swim without a card, the same rules will apply to everyone.

Payment will be requested once you have booked a swim session.

We offer a 75m triangle for novice swimmers and a loop of 400m, and an additional loop of 800m is normally also available. You may swim as many or as few loops as you like. The last Saturday of each month we plan to operate an end to end swim rather than an 800m loop in addition to the 400m and novice loops.

Just for you: End-to-End swims on the last Saturday of every month during which swimmers can swim the whole length of the Broad (and back again, if they wish).

We have lots of exciting new ideas for 2023, so keep your eyes on Transition Times. Also see the events section for future details, or keep your eyes open on our Facebook page.

You have to be a club member to swim. Visitors to the area who are members from another triathlon club may be allowed to swim as a guest at the discretion of the swim manager if spaces are available. Please email OWS@tri-anglia.co.uk in advance for more information.

No, sorry, due to insurance regulations you have to be a member to swim at our club sessions.

We welcome members who are new to open water, but all attendees must be competent swimmers, and able to complete the minimum distance of 1,500m in a pool. We recommend that you attend one of our club swim sessions at NHSG, North Walsham or Beccles Lido prior to coming to the lake to ensure competency.

If you are new to open water swimming please do introduce yourself to the registration desk and we will make sure that you are aware of the session procedures and we can normally find an experienced member to look after you. Take your time to acclimatize to the water and spend some time on the 75m novice loop closer to the deck, and on the shorter 400m loop before tackling the longer distances.

If you feel you have mitigating circumstances which requires non-wetsuit open water swimming, please fill in the Wetsuit Exemption Application Form and obtain the necessary signature prior to your session ( new applications from 2022 only will be carried forward to 2023) The water temperature must be a minimum of 14 degrees for non-wetsuit swimming and you swim at your own risk. Non wet suit swimmers must wear a bright green hat (we have them to buy at the lake) to identify themselves.

wetsuit-exemption-form-2023 Download

Yes, but do be aware that you will feel the cold much more and please accept that this is at your own risk.

Yes, we have male and female changing rooms and showers.

We provide free tea, coffee – but please bring your own cups, and biscuits to enjoy after your swim. You can help yourself from cabin 8, but please clean up after yourself and be aware that there may be other swimmers exiting the water after you and they will also need something to eat. Biscuits are for swimmers only. Please supervise children in this area. Or take a walk along to the Norwich Boat House where they have a volunteer run café serving bacon rolls and other goodies, or the Flint Barn by the car park.

Please bring your own swim hat with you – Red for a regular swimmer, bright green for non- wetsuit. Or if Di is the swim manager they can be bought at the lake (card or phone payment only)

If we have to cancel a session due to poor water quality or temperature we will post the info on the club forum and facebook pages, so please do check before you leave home. If we have enough notice from the OEC we will post to our Facebook group, and put an item on our website so please keep an eye on social media and the website.

The team at Whitlingham Adventure provide safety cover in the form of boats and kayaks on the water. There are also spotters on deck keeping an eye on the swimmers. The water quality is monitored and tested regularly and the temperature is tested prior to each swim. Ultimately however you need to know your limits, and swim to your ability.

If any swimmer gets into difficulty they are to roll onto their back and raise one arm into the air; the rescue boat will assist them. If any swimmer sees a swimmer in difficulty they should stop and assist immediately, and stay with them until the rescue boat arrives.

The water is monitored for blue green alge levels regularly. Swims may be cancelled if the approved levels of toxicity are exceeded. Please look at the website and club Facebook page before leaving home, as this is where we will post details of last minute cancellations.

The temperature varies throughout the season and is monitored regularly. Staff at the desk will be able to tell you the current temperature. It can range from 11 to 22 degrees, swimming will not be permitted below 11 degrees

We don’t recommend or encourage it, especially if the water levels are low. If you are practising for a dive start event you may dive in providing you accept that you do so at your own risk, and have spoken to the OWS manager on the day. You must also ensure the water is clear of other swimmers and that the water is deep enough.

We welcome junior open water swimmers!

The TA swim manager has the right to refuse any junior to swim.

No, but our members sometimes have second hand suits to sell via our forum or Facebook group. For new suits you are best visiting (online or in the flesh) a triathlon shop. The nearest to us is Tri Harder in Dereham. Ben at Tri Harder comes very highly recommended with a wealth of triathlon knowledge. (www.triharder.co.uk)

No, but Tri Harder in Dereham do. There are also postal wetsuit hire services in the UK.

Open Water Swim Coordinator 2023

Our 2023 Open Water Swim Coordinator is Di Swanepoel. She can be contacted via OWS@tri-anglia.co.uk. Di is the point of contact for Whitlingham Adventure into Tri-Anglia and will be recruiting the volunteers to operate each of our club open water swims through 2023. Please contact Di to offer your assistance or with any queries, but before the emails start flooding in do have a good read of the information on the website.