Discover your life aquatic

Let Sea Hiker coaches show you the key skills you need turn your swimming into something that helps you enjoy swimming outdoors in lakes and the ocean.

Here are some key benefits of the Open Water Confidence program: 

1. Overcome the obstacles that are holding you back with personalized coaching

    from Sea Hiker coaches in small classes

2. Practice key open water safety skills, energy-saving techniques and

    racing tricks so that you feel like you belong in open water

3. Enjoy fun-filled group swims so that you get used to swimming with

    other people and practice your new skills in a realistic conditions

Join the growing community of people who have taken Sea Hiker's Open Water Confidence course in the last three years. Our community includes top 3 finishers in age group categories, Ironman finishers, 10km racers, and many happy first time triathletes. 

Shelly Scott, of Vancouver, had this to say about her recent experience with Sea Hiker's pool and open water coaching: 

"Having a great swim was a great start to the race. Thank you for all your guidance!   

I wanted to thank you for preparing me for the swim in my half ironman on the weekend.

Now, I usually take 60 minutes to swim 200m but I was still worried about the cut-off time of 70 minutes. Well, I did it in 51 minutes!  Gotta love the wetsuit but I know the lessons helped immensely, especially Wednesday's practice in the waves as it was really choppy the last 500m as everybody raced in. I was ecstatic. I finished the whole race 50 minutes ahead of what I had predicted." 

Click on the link at the bottom of the page to start your open water or triathlon season with confidence in the water.

Note: Each open water session is limited to 12 participants. Register today to guarantee your course schedule preferences. 

Our 100% Guarantee. Sea Hiker will refund your the cost of the course if you do not find your confidence in open water skyrockets and you discover how to swim with ease in your races or open water swims. 

Course Overview:  In this course, our main focus is developing true comfort and confidence in open water swimming. We'll look at key technique modifications to help you move from the pool to the lake or ocean, the basics of open water swim practices, getting ready for triathlon or open water racing, and becoming familiar with the changing ocean environment.

In this course, you will:

• gradually build distance while holding good open-water swimming technique
• learn the keys to swimming safely and within your comfort zone
• refine key freestyle techniques that make open water swimming easier and faster
• learn key skills for navigation in a variety of water conditions including sighting skills
• learn strategies for swimming in close quarters with other swimmers
• learn key open water and long course pool practices (Kits Pool and 50m pools) that you can use during and after the course is over.

Schedule: This course will meet three times a week for 15 sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. The program runs from August 2nd 16th to September 1st. Given the holiday on August 1st, there will be a make up class on Wednesday, August 3rd. This will be the first class. If you cannot make it on Wednesday, let us know.  

See the options below for attending twice a week or once a week. If you're looking to improve your open water confidence for triathlon, swimming 2-3 times a week is highly recommended.  

Please meet at the Jericho Beach lifeguard station and be ready to swim at 5:50 pm for orientation and/or dry land practice.

Mondays: 1 spot left

Tuesdays: sold out! 

Thursdays: 1 spot left!

We may open another session on Mondays, please email us to be placed on the waiting list. 

Cost:

You have three options for attendance: 

Recommended: $295 for 3 sessions / week (15 sessions total) and save 25% SOLD OUT.

Two days a week: $235 for 2 sessions/week (10 sessions) and save 12%. 1 spot left

One day a week: $135 for 1 session/week (5 sessions). 2 spots left, unless 2x week sells out. 

 
Pre-requisites: Pre-requisites for this course are that you can swim 100m freestyle without stopping in a pool.  It is ideal to have had some coaching from a Sea Hiker coach, but not essential. Please contact us if you have any questions about course suitability. 

Note: While water temperatures in June and July are normally perfect for this course, the proposed dates may see colder water temperatures than we typically experience in the summer. If the water is not warm enough, we may require adequate thermal head gear (neoprene cap or hood) and gloves/booties. Wetsuits are mandatory for this course. Please email us for recommendations on wetsuits or cold water gear.

Venue details and directions:

See the location link above for directions and venue details.

Cancellations:

We require 72 hours to guarantee a full refund. If you cancel with less than 72 hours notice, we will do our best to find another person to take your place. Please contact us as soon as possible if, after registering, attending becomes a concern!

Participants under 18:

If you are under 18 years of age, you will need a parent or guardian to sign your liability waiver form when you arrive for the  program.

Register/Sign-Up:

Click on "Add to Cart" at the top of this page.

** Cheque or Cash?  If you intend to pay with a cheque or cash, please still use the "Add to Cart" button and provide the requested information.