Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Swim Secure™ are open water swimming products that are designed and marketed by Chillswim® in the UK and Europe.
Swim Secure™ is a wide product range of open water swimming dry-bags and tow-floats. Colin Hill describes the increasing use of the products both in training swims and in competitions, “They allow open water swimmers to be safer and be seen and provide waterproof storage during swims.
Swim Secure™ products are used by competent swimmers to increase visibility in the open water. They are also suitable for use by open water swimmers, triathletes, and recreational swimmers.”
Besides being easy to carry, the products are highly visible in the water, can support an adult if they need to rest during their swim, and can keep valuables dry during a swim.
By increasing visibility, swimmers can be seen by boaters, Jet-skis, other swimmers, lifeguards and support teams on the water and onshore.
The tow-float is extremely lightweight and ideal for training and events.
The Tow-float Pro has a carabiner attachment to remove float easily and is useful for swim guides who may need to assist others. It has a rope around the outside of the float to assist with holding on.
The dry bag is a double airbag system that keeps kits safe and dry with small, medium, large, extra large sizes available. It can be used without a kit as a tow-float and is ideal for self supported swims and adventure swims.
The dry-bag window is a double airbag system that keeps the kit safe and dry and includes an extra phone dry bag and a phone window]. It can be used without a kit as a tow-float and is ideal for self supported swims and adventure swims.
The hydration float offers an open pocket for a water bottle and has an inflatable floor for draining. It is ideal for long training swims.
The tow donut is a small integrated dry-bag ideal for car keys, phone and valuables and is ideal for self-supported swimming.
“These floats have long been used in Asia where open water swims in schools and military units have been going on for hundreds of years,” explains Steven Munatones.
“In the open water swimming world, floats were mostly required in mass participation swims in China and Taiwan like the Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival. Because the number of participants in these non-timed events were so large, they pioneered the use of floats and other elements such a pontoons in the middle of the course and numbered buoys.
It was Colin who really expanded their use and acceptance in the United Kingdom. Even with the obvious benefits of using the floats from England to South Africa, Taiwan to Spain, there are still a majority of open water swimming races and events around the world where these floats are not allowed for various reasons.
But Colin’s foresight is – as usual – a great enabler in the sport of open water swimming who sees the benefits of allowing floats in his events.”
For more information on the Swim Secure™, visit here.
Copyright © 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association