Sighting: Five Key Tips

This has been the topic of many posts and the subject of many conversations, during Swim Squads, Open Water Swim Sessions and 1-1 sessions.

In open water swimming, if we want to swim straight (and we really do), then we need to be looking up and making sure we are swimming in the right direction. If we don’t, we are guaranteed to go off course.

How do I know?

We do an exercise in our open water swim groups where I ask swimmers to swim about 50 metres to one of the buoys. I ask them to do this without sighting. To go off feel. Swim as straight as possible, without the benefit of a black line to follow, a lane rope to keep us in line or any looking up to guide us. There are very few swimmers who manage to stay in a straight line. The rest look up after 40 or 50 strokes, shocked to discover they are 10, 15, 20 metres wider than they should be.

So, if we think sighting is a good idea (it is), then what should we think about?

Frequent & Regular

Firstly, we should sight often. I ask swimmers to sight every 6 – 8 strokes. This way, if we’re starting to go off course a little, we can make mini corrections.

Rhythm Of The Stroke

We want to use a sighting method that fits in with our stroke rhythm because we don’t want to disrupt our swimming whilst we’re sighting. Ideally, we want to lift our head to spot our target and then quickly turn to the side to breathe, all in one fluid movement, with zero impact on our stroke rate. We do a lot of this in our race phase in our Swim Squads and every session at our open water sessions. Mastering that rhythm takes practice.

Spot Landmarks

Turn buoys are usually what we’re trying to spot whilst in the water. We want to swim from one swim buoy to another, in as straight a line as possible. However, these are usually a few hundred metres apart, and in amongst other swimmers, with sun in our eyes or waves in our face, they can be quite hard to spot. Instead, depending on the course, we want to try and sight against landmarks that are more or less in line with the buoys. A church spire, a tall building, a cluster of trees. Much easier to see in the distance, even with the splashing of the swimmers around you.

Double Sight

If you come up to sight and don’t see what you’re looking for, you need to sight again on your very next stroke. Don’t wait another 6-8 strokes before looking again.

Increase Frequency

As we approach turn buoys, we want to increase the frequency of sighting – to spot trouble, to identify the line we’re going to take, to know when to turn. The same applies when we’re approaching the finish – making sure we’re heading towards the exit ramp and being aware of what’s going on around us.

Remember, good sighting doesn’t happen by accident. It takes deliberate practice. Include some practice in almost every swim session you do during this race phase of training, in open water and in the pool. Do this and you will reap the benefits on race day!

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