Brown Girl Outdoor World Swim2Surf
Surf the Greats is joining forces with Brown Girl Outdoor World once again for a special Swim 2 Surf eight week program. This experience is limited to 8 participants and all equipment will be provided. In order to create a safe and positive space for these classes, we would like to ensure all participants are women who identify as members of the Brown Girl Outdoor World community.
Join us every Tuesday for 8 weeks starting July 5th from 6:00-7:00pm at Cherry Beach for this special introduction to open water swimming.
As we continue to strive to empower our communities, we realized that there is a large population of people in Toronto who want to try water recreational activities such as surfing on the Great Lakes and yet… they don’t know how to swim. This topic alone brought us to chatting with Demeisha, the founder of B.G.O.W. Since being enlightened by Demeisha we have created a program that will allow participants to understand the basics of open water swimming, and hopefully become comfortable in a fresh water swimming environment.
While surfing usually involves a board that provides us with a surface on which to float, we can’t always rely on it for our safety. When conditions are rough, an old leash can easily break and cause a surfer to ultimately lose their board. In such extreme situations, we must be able to rely on our own strength to get back to land. In order to work towards removing a major barrier to surfing as a lifestyle for many people, Surf the Great’s Swim-2-Surf program is designed to introduce non-swimmers and novices to basic swim skills and techniques that are important for surfing and aquatic safety in general. Whether you’re new to open water swimming, or are still learning to swim or be comfortable in a water environment, this 8-week program taught by our Lifesaving Society-certified swim instructors who are also ISA-certified surf coaches, will create a solid foundation for swimming long-term by focusing on the following aspects: - Familiarizing with Open Water Swimming (OWS) - Self-Awareness and Safety in (Cold) Water - Building Confidence in Open Water - Movement and Technique All lessons will take place in shallow water once per week where participants will be able to touch the ground while in the water—progression will vary from one person to another, so everyone will go at their own pace. The program is streamlined to get you to a level of swimming that will allow you to be confident in the water and comfortably partake in our Intro to Surf lessons, and aquatics in general, as well as the skills to continue working on your swimming independently.
CLASS DURATION: 45 minutes
SKILL LEVELS: Novice Swimmers
PREREQUISITES/GEAR: Adult non-swimmer (16 years and up), bathing suit, towel, goggles, swim cap (optional).
SKILLS COVERED:
- Enter and exit shallow water
- Sideways entry wearing PFD
- Tread water 30 sec. wearing PFD
- Hold breath underwater 5–10 sec.
- Submerge and exhale 5–10 times
- Open eyes underwater
- Recover object from bottom in chest-deep water
- Wearing PFD, jump into deep water, tread 30 sec. and swim / kick on back 5–10 m.
- Float on front and back
- Roll laterally front to back and back to front
- Glide on front, back and side 3–5 m each
- Flutter kick on front, back and side 10–15 m each
- Whip kick in vertical position with PFD 15–30 sec.
- Front crawl or back crawl 10–15 m
- Interval training: 4 x 9–12 m flutter kick with 10–15 sec. Rests
PRICING: $55+HST
We would also like to thank Arcteryx Toronto for being incredible community partners and for their generous sponsorship.
HOW TO BOOK: Use the calendar below to book your session
