Swim for Tri

Meet the incredible coaching team behind Swim For Tri! 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️
Whether you’re looking to conquer your fear of the water, improve your technique, get faster, train for a triathlon, or simply become a stronger, more confident swimmer — our expert coaches are here to help you every step of the way.
From 1-2-1 coaching and technical courses to fitness sessions, masterclasses and swim camps, we offer everything you need to achieve your swimming goals.
With decades of experience and a passion for helping swimmers of all abilities, our team works with beginners through to advanced athletes.
Ready to transform your swimming? 💙
Join Swim For Tri and discover what you’re capable of.

www.swimfortri.co.uk

10% discount being offered on all 1-2-1/2-2-1 block bookings! Just use code: SUMMERSPECIAL.

The rise of the non-Wetsuit Swim seems to be a thing now especially in European long-distance races. Year after year now we’ve seen more and more people encounter a non-Wetsuit Swim and 2026 is going that way rapidly, even in the UK. We are coming off back-to-back Roth non-Wetsuit swims and I just got a text telling me about Versailles and the risk to Luxembourg.

As a Swim Coach for some years now I’ve been preaching and encouraging my swimmers that you should train as if you were competing in a non-Wetsuit Swim. If you happen to be given the opportunity to race in your Wetsuit, obviously you should be quicker (if it fits well and is well fitted.) But psychologically it should not be an issue if there is no wetsuit on race day. Your swim technique should be efficient enough to not need a wetsuit.

We still need to practice and prepare and be comfortable in our wetsuit as you will probably be in it for the earlier races in the season. Like my approach to pull buoys, which should be an aid to your swimming fitness, not be your actual swim technique. Wetsuits should not be relied upon for making cut offs etc.

You have got to be ready for swims without Wetsuits now and if it does happen to be a Wetsuit Swim then you’re going be faster. You’re going to be a bit more rested and you’re going to have a lower heart rate getting onto The Bike. That is exactly what a Wetsuit should do.

Hindsight is a lovely thing but with days/ weeks to go what can you do if you’ve not got 9 months to prepare? then obviously that is a very different story.

To help, let us look at what a wetsuit does aside from warmth and overall floatation - they keep the legs up regardless of leg technique. Trust me when I say I have seen a huge array of leg kicks and the wetsuit hiding that multitude of sins. A ‘ high in the water’ bad leg kick is kept high by your suit but the drag it creates won’t be reduced.

Drag, sinking legs and poor body position is going to devastate your swim. What might have been a steady 1:55 pace for 100m is now likely to be a tiring 2:20 or more…

With races imminent what can be done if you have been relying on your suit?

Ankle flexibility - loosen them up so they are not anchoring the body. Look at the rock pose from the world of Yoga. Ankles at 90degrees are nigh on impossible to keep high due to a combination of factors. The increased surface area and the flow of water around that shape pulling them down.

Look to a Smaller kick to keep the legs hidden in the shadow of the body and reduce your profile. Feel the big toes lightly brushing to stop them straying.

Pivot the wrist at the back of stroke to keep the fingertips pointing downwards for longer. Push water back not up, it will keep the hips higher.

Check head position, look forward but not to the extreme you are facing forward which will tip the body and keep the legs lower. Similarly, a straight arm push down might be lifting the head and so lowering the legs. Work on your catch so you pivot at the elbow not the shoulder.

Consider a Skin suit to cover up any drag apparent in a tri suit i.e., those useful pockets for gels on the trisuit will create some turbulence, remember small discrepancies are now magnified at 800x denser than air. With no neoprene in a swim skin the advantage comes from the seams, the fabric, and its water repellent nature and of course the compression. If you can afford one, they work but its small gains.

If the swim is multi lap and you exit, then you have the perfect opportunity to grab a gel and start some refuelling to help offset the fact the swim will now be harder.
Equally you just need to be Psychologically tougher approaching the swim - be tough as the event now gets significantly tougher,

Be prepared perhaps for more recovery in T1 and perhaps even a slower bike ride having worked harder on the swim.

Longer term - hindsight as mentioned is a wonderful thing and in anticipation of next year’s scorchers perhaps we should be addressing those sinky legs sooner than later. For now get your swim technique checked and do what you can to get those feet and hips higher and allow the arm pull, the best opportunity to pull the narrowest of vessels through the water.

We need your swimming questions!
We are reaching out today to ask for your help. We are aiming to offer more with our newsletter and would love to know your swimming questions. We are aiming to add a technical swim section to our newsletter.
So, what do you need to know?
How to swim faster?
How to swim using less energy?
How do I get a wetsuit on correctly?

Whatever your swimming question, we would love to know.
Please respond to this post so we can add to our weekly newsletters technical section. If you are not signed up for this, you can do so via this link: https://sft-emails.smudge.dev/sign-up-form

We are excited to advise you we are returning to CLub La Santa in 2027, with our best openwater swim camp YET!
Full details of this stunning camp can be found on this link: https://www.swimfortri.co.uk/open-water-swim-camp

Coaches are head Coach DAn Bullock, Keeley Bullock and Maria Pedraza.
Bookings are now open. You have to be staying in Club La Santa to attend this camp!
https://www.clublasanta.co.uk/apartments/
Come and help us as we will be celebrating 24 years of Swim for Tri whilst away on this camp.

SFT are super excited to welcome you to our newest SFT coach the amazing Nelly Kinch. She will be starting to offer 1-2-1/2-2-1 lessons at our Nuffield Bloomsbury branch on a Thursday afternoon/ pm. We will be extending this as she gets busier.
Please read her BIO below:

Nelly is an ASA Level 2-qualified swimming teacher with over 8 years of experience coaching and teaching swimmers. Her own swimming journey began at 13 with Dulwich Dolphins SC, where she quickly progressed from club level to competing nationally. At 18, she moved to Nottingham to train with Nova Centurion, balancing a demanding schedule of nine pool sessions per week alongside her BSc in Sport & Exercise Science. She later trained with the National Centre Triathlon squad under Steve Lloyd, developing a strong understanding of open-water swimming and the specific demands of triathlon performance.

Following this, she was awarded a scholarship to the University of Stirling, where she completed an MSc in Psychology while training in a high-performance environment alongside Olympic and international-level swimmers. This experience significantly shaped her technical knowledge and her approach to skill development and performance.

She is currently studying Neuroscience in London and is excited to be back on poolside, sharing her experience and passion for swimming with Swim for Tri.

Nelly's likes: In terms of what I enjoy outside of swimming… good question! Since I’ve only recently stepped away from full-time competitive swimming, I’m in a bit of a transition phase and trying out new things. At the moment, I’d say being a bit of a neuroscience nerd (as that’s what I’m studying), and I love any chance to get out into nature when I can. I also recently tried beach volleyball - which was a bit rogue but I loved it! If talking counts as a hobby that would be mine. Hopefully in a few months I’ll have a better answer for you!
oooo forgot to add!! I am a HUGE dog lover, we have a fox red lab and I LOVEEEE spending time with him haha!!!

You can see Nelly's schedule on this link: https://bookings.swimfortri.co.uk/?location=Russell+Square&type=All+Classes&coach=Nelly+Kinch

Just click on a future Thursday date!

Please help us to welcome Nelly to our amazing team.

Sarah swam a 121 lesson with Dan today and with the sensor system. 45min of drills later and quite the improvement. Not just vague stroke counts, ‘does that feel better?’ Or video angles. Finally you can see your actual improvement in a high quality lesson. Soon be available to book ! Of course we also made use of the Otion Swim paddles

https://www.swimfortri.co.uk/wetsuit-fitting-masterclass April 26th- how to gain the most from your wetsuit. West Resevoir OpenWater centre with the chance to swim as well.

Swim for Tri - Wetsuit Fitting and Openwater Guidance For Swim and Tri coaches who want a deeper understanding of Open Water swim techniques and integrating Tri and Open Water swimmers into pool based sessions. The lecture will cover many applicable topics to help you coach your swimmers more effectively.