You can be an ice swimmer, a marathon swimmer, a channel swimmer, or a stage swimmer. You can be a competitive ocean swimmer or race on the professional marathon circuit. You can be a solo or relay channel swimmer. Or you can simply just enjoy swimming in open bodies of water, be it in lakes, rivers, bays, oceans, or seas.

But when you are a true, authentic, genuine to the core open water swimmer, you generally think or do or know these things:

1. Where your swimsuits are at this very moment.
2. Where your favorite pairs of goggles are.
3. Where you chafe the most.
4. What water temperature you like the best.
5. What your last hard workout was.
6. You know what a jellyfish sting feels like.
7. You have thought what to do during a shark encounter.
8. You wonder what the water temperature is whenever you see an open body of water
9. You wonder how far it is to the other side of whatever lake or river you see
10. You are familiar with weather and wind condition apps.
11. You never turn down receiving another swim cap.
12. You have more towels than any of your non-swimming friends or family.
13. You love rainbows over the water and dolphins under the water.
14. You have way too many bottles of sunscreen around your house or in your car.
15. You have all kinds of ideas about what kinds of swims you potentially what to do.
16. You have all kinds of jars of Vaseline, ointments, and lanolin, both unopened and not completely all used up.
17. You tend to think in hours and minutes, kilometers or miles, rather than seconds, meters, or a specific number of laps.
18. You look at your smartwatch more than a pace clock.
19. You are more likely to possess ear plugs and a kayak rather than a pull buoy, fin, and swim snorkel.
20. You have been asked to kayak for a friend or serve as a second or pace swimmer.
21. You are more concerned about water temperature than air temperatures on any given day.
22. You know what hypothermia is and feels like.
23. You know what temperatures can lead to hyperthermia.
24. You know your favorite drinks in the water.
25. You find coral reefs to be fascinating.
26. You have swam into seaweed and plastics before.
27. You have some tentacle scars from the past.
28. You know various acronyms like DNF, DNS, DSQ, OTL, SPM.
29. You always want to avoid boat exhaust and smokers on boats.
30. You don’t like drafters, but you can draft well yourself.
31. Sand in your toes feels better than chlorine on your skin.
32. You own more flip flops or crocs and furry boots than running shoes.
33. You can remember your toughest workout and your most difficult swim like it was yesterday.
34. You can eat copious amounts after a long workout.
35. You can sleep extraordinarily deeply after a long swim.
36. Pushing boundaries to the extreme is more of a given than an unreasonable dream.

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.