MY OPEN WATER SWIMMING STORY

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Emma, Chief Manatee at Swimories, is a seasoned open water swimmer with many swims , including lakes, rivers, waterfalls, large puddles!!!! and two English Channel crossings under her flippers. She is passionate about sharing her experiences and knowledge in order to make wild swimming accessible for all - regardless of experience and fitness level.

Emma brings an unrivalled enthusiasm and infectious energy to everything that she does. Her calm approach will put you at ease and enable you to have a truly magical time.

As a qualified open water swim coach and lifeguard, you can rest assured that Emma has the formalities covered enabling you to have a safe, stress-free experience to create your own unforgettable Swimories.

STA Open Water Swim Coach

RLSS Open Water Lifeguard

Royal Yachting Association First Aider

MHFA England Mental Health First Aider

English Channel - Solo

English Channel - Relay

You know what’s great about Open water swimming? Yes it’s fabulous exercise; you get an unbelievable spiritual connection to the water and the world around you; you sometimes get a peek of the beautiful Poppy fields from the water, spot the odd kingfisher on the riverbank and even sneak a cheeky wee in the water! All great, all part of the enormous list of reasons why open water swimming is fantastic but there is one more most resplendent thing that open water swimming does, it allows you to be a ‘rebel’, even with the rise in popularity of open water swimming, it's still seen as something that may be a bit weird or unusual.

It allows you to ‘stick it to the man’. To show that being yourself is ok and you won’t bow to any archaic pre conceived ideas society may have of how you look, swim, walk, talk or lead your life.

Sometimes, with no exception, life can be tough both physically and mentally, being trapped by anxiety of non-conformity or even shame can be crippling and stop you achieving your goals. Let me tell you, whatever your perceived ideas of yourself, the water doesn’t care, it simply does not care. Not only does the water not care, the tribe that you find yourself stood next to getting dressed in warm clothes (that sometimes have seen better days) don’t care. The person so covered up in clothes to keep warm that you wouldn’t recognise them on the street doesn’t care. The person stood there with a hot water bottle slowly slipping down their leg simply doesn’t care.

Open water swimming accommodates all types of swimmers from those wishing to improve on their speed, to bimblers, stroke enthusiasts to wannabe manatees, all are of equal stature in the water. It’s about acceptance, support and connection to achieve your aspirations without judgement or question.

I, personally, am super proud to be an open water swimmer and I will never stop being an advocate of the plus sized person in the sport and will gladly help anyone who wants to give it a go or get back to the water because nobody has the right to tell you you can’t. During training for my channel swim, I experienced comments that were not so complimentary and was even told that I shouldn’t do it as I was going to drown. No-one has the right to say that you don’t swim the correct way or don't have the right shaped body or aren’t fast enough.