williamstown – Williamstown Open Water Swim Coaching

Swimming with dolphins at Williamstown Beach, Melbourne

Posted on June 21, 2022 by JBryce

There have been more dolphins at Williamstown Beach this autumn and winter than I have seen before. And what happened yesterday has never happened to me before.

So what has happened was – Rick and I were swimming quite quickly when I saw a little dolphin swim underneath us – the tail was flat not a vertical sharky tail.

I looked around and saw a couple of big dolphins bobbing up and down next to us. As soon as I got near a no-boating marker, I stood up on its ledge to look around. Then it became clear that we were surrounded by dolphins. There were about 20 and they wanted to say hello. So I cleaned the goggles and tried to duck dive underwater and swim around with the dolphins.

They were in no hurry to leave us and it all happened very close to shore.

Dolphins in Port Phillip Bay are a separate species called Burrunan Dolphins and are under threat. There’s said to be about 120 left in the bay and a smaller number in Gippsland Lakes.

Burrunan dolphins have white markings on their tummy.

Living, and swimming, with MS (Multiple Sclerosis)

Posted on February 10, 2022 by JBryce

By Belinda Rogers

I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 20 years now and although it has been life changing, I’ve made sure it hasn’t been life destroying.

My life is happy and active, even though I am now a full-time wheelchair user. I find it is less the MS that restricts me and more the obstacles that our society throws in my way that makes my life difficult. With the right equipment and support and true accessibility in our communities there is very little that I can’t do and enjoy.

And this is where MS Australia does so much excellent work in supporting people living with the disease, their carers and supporters, and in doing amazing research into the disease. Without MS working tirelessly on our behalf educating and advocating for us, life would be much harder for me and all the many others living with MS.

LINK: What is MS?

I love swimming and heading to the beach for the day. With more and more beaches rolling out accessible wheelchair beach matting and having beach wheelchairs available for use, this is easier and easier for me to do.

Accessible Beaches Australia has a directory of beaches near you that wheelchair users and people living with mobility challenges can access.

With the right wheelchair I can go bushwalking and spend the day out and about exploring with my dog. I have a wheelchair modified vehicle so I can retain my independence and make the most of going to new places.

Just before Covid hit I was fortunate enough to win one of the MS Go For Gold Scholarships which enabled me to achieve a long held dream and do a self drive holiday for a month through the UK. And it was through the generosity of sponsors of the MS Mega Swim, amongst other fund raisers, that the Scholarship is made possible to so many of us each year.

MS hasn’t ruined my life, but it isn’t all adventures and excitement either. There are many days when I am laid low by crippling fatigue and pain, unable to move because of agonising muscle spasms or even unable to eat because of lancing facial nerve pain.

And there are the indignities of bladder problems as well to deal with. But again, MS Australia is invaluable in the support they offer with their MS Connect phone service. Any time you ring, you’re able to speak with a knowledgeable and compassionate person to guide you through the tougher times.

The MS Employment team is also available with excellent advice to help you navigate your rights at work and to help you keep working as long as you want to. I worked continuously from the time of diagnosis until retirement a couple of months ago.

Without the organisation behind me, the last twenty years would have been so much harder. But with MS working in partnership with me on my journey, living with the disease has been less devastating than it could have been.

Please, consider making a small (or not so small) donation to our MS Mega Swim fundraiser. Our club, Melbourne Open Water Swimming Club, is participating in the MS Mega Swim 18-19 February 2022 to raise $$ and awareness to assist people like Belinda who are living with MS.

Click through to our MS Mega Swim page and give a little so people with MS can fully participate in activities many people take for granted…

Yes children can learn to swim in the sea

Posted on January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 by JBryce

What is old is new again and there’s nothing older than kids learning to swim in the open water. For generations parents have taken their kids to the local pool for swimming lessons. Now the outside open air, the space, social distance and the healthy salt water are appealing to parents looking for swim lessons for their kids.

And the kids are loving it.

Children who learn to swim in the sea are not fazed by the smallest wave, seaweed or jellyfish. They learn to love the outdoors and be a just a bit more resilient to the challenges of the natural environment. Very soon, after just a few lessons, the kids are asking when can we go back to the beach for swimming?

Learning swim skills in the open water

Relaxing and enjoying yourself is the number one item on the learn to swim agenda. Swimming only really works when you aren’t freaking out, scared or panicking. So learning to love the beach and all the flora and fauna is important.

Human bodies float just a bit easier in the salt water so getting that all-important high horizontal body position is just a bit quicker for the children swimming in the sea. You have to be able to float before you can swim so this step is achieved faster in the ocean than in a pool.

Blowing bubbles under the water is the next step and this means learning to live with a bit of water occasionally getting in the nose and mouth. For kids who are sensitive to chemicals like chlorine this can be an issue. But the salt water is healthy and getting used to sea water in and around your face is important for water safety. If you fall off a boat or jetty, you want to be confident of being able to swim back, not in shock from the strange feeling of water on your face.

At Williamstown Beach we set up floating marker buoys for the kids to swim around, so we can do ‘laps’ just like at the pool.

In addition to freestyle we teach breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, survival backstroke, sidestroke, swimming under the water and treading water.

But more than that – in the sea we can teach straight swimming and group swimming more easily from the beginning, while kids are still developing their stroke technique. We also teach sighting, surfing, diving under waves and dealing with the chop and rough water. Kids learn about currents, rips, tides and sea creatures.

In just a few classes kids who have never before been comfortable in the open water are loving the whole experience and they are already showing signs of more resilience.

Even small kids learning the basics can do it in the sea. We are teaching kids as young as 6 in groups at the beach. These kids will enjoy the water for a lifetime. They are learning to love the great outdoors and be safe at the beach.

If you are interested in your kids learning to swim at the beach, follow this link to our booking page for information about our Junior Dolphins for under 10s and Junior Dolphins LEVEL UP for Over 10s groups.

Proof of concept! We can run open water swimming squads for multi class athletes

Posted on February 1, 2018February 1, 2018 by JBryce

We didn’t know if this was even possible.

Can we run an open water swim group – in the sea – for multi class and Special Olympics swimmers?

To tell the truth, I was reluctant to find out – but when Hans from Special Olympics persisted and we ventured into this, we discovered a whole new experience to enjoy. And that was swimming with people who don’t get to explore the deep blue sea, the salty water, the sun and the movement.

Yes the movement all around – waves, chop, windy splashes, currents. I didn’t quite appreciate how that might be the big first impression – and big first hurdle to overcome – for pool swimmers with special needs.

“Why is it moving?”

I’ve got a good answer for that question now. But there were other hurdles. The wetsuits were difficult to put on. There was no actual end to the pool.

Plus there was the feeling of unsteady sand under feet. We expected that might create uncertainty for our autistic participants but the swim buddies were all great supporters and just essential confidence builders. We got to the water!

Now, after two clinics, we seem to have created a bit of a monster. Most of the participants were so happy with the day out at the beach they have been asking when they can do it again

No OW swimming for multi class athletes

Multi class and Special Olympics athletes have, up until now, largely missed out on enjoying open water swimming. Supporting swimmers with special needs is a labour-intensive operation requiring competent swimmers to be buddies, other safety volunteers and the coaches to all work together with the athlete, their carers, coach and club. Insurance, of course, is a consideration and a risk assessment approach is required.

There has been no multi class categories in open water events in Victoria until 2016. And no way for pool squads to train in the open water.

Now some open water events, like the WOW Challenge / VOWC and a few other public participation open water swims in Melbourne recognise and support multi class swimmers. We think eventually every event will need to buy more medals for multi class athletes and think seriously about how they need to support access for all swimmers.

Bringing it all together

Hans and I first talked this idea through with Liz Gosper from Inclusive Sports Training six months before anyone got near the water. We got great support from Special Olympics (thanks Simon!) and the volunteer lifesavers at WSLSC. Nothing would have been possible without the swim buddies from The Mussels and Swimming Victoria backed us up as well. We could not have put this on without all of these organisations chipping in.

The stars aligned for us at Williamstown to bring this project together. Our first two open water clinics were a huge success.

What actually happened

At our November and December 2017 clinics, swimmers from Special Olympics Victoria looked tentatively at the sea from the safety of the Lifesaving Club’s front lawn. Looking at Mum, Dad and the coaches for assurance, these swimmers were introduced to their ‘swim buddies’ from WSLSC’s Ocean Swimming Club “The Mussels.”

The buddies helped swimmers put on some donated wetsuits (thanks Inclusive Sports) and we met on the beach for dryland exercises. We stood in a circle and joked around a bit.

A couple of swimmers found the feeling of the shifting sand under their feet stressful. We hadn’t yet got to the water. I may have been concerned at that point how this was going to turn out.

But the buddies did a great job, sticking close to the swimmers and with our three WSLSC volunteers on rescue boards we leapt into the sea. Well some didn’t quite leap. More of a slow amble.

We practised high elbows and body position in the open water and sighting before breathing. We played touch the toes and had fun drafting and trying to swim straight. By the end of the hour we had swum more than 1.5km in deep water and no one had returned to shore.

For me the enjoyment of the participants and the look of new confidence on faces proved the concept. The icing on cake has been the medals and podium finishes at open water events by participants from our clinics. These are strong pool swimmers who have rarely before ventured into the open water.

The volunteers who helped all had a great time as well, as did Hans and I, so yeah, we’ll be doing it again!

Supported Open water swimming squad is back!

Saturday 11 February 2018 12 Noon – 1pm

Saturday 17 February 2018 12 Noon – 1pm (with Inclusive Sports Training)

Saturday 24 March 2018 12 Noon – 1pm

Contact Jason for more info.

Open water swim groups are booming at Williamstown

Posted on November 6, 2017November 6, 2017 by JBryce

Open water swimming is a rapidly growing sport and Williamstown Beach is the home of Victoria’s biggest open water swimming program.

Thousands of swimmers enjoy our beautiful beach, abundant sea life and and marine sanctuary each year. Williamstown Swimming and Lifesaving Club host the Victorian Open Water Championships each December and the WOW Challenge public participation swim festival.

Every Saturday morning and Wednesday evening after work (during daylight savings) there is a free swimming group and swim coaching classes.

Check out our short promo vid here.

The Melbourne Ocean Swimming Club ( a free swimming group based at WSLSC) and Williamstown Open Water Swim Coaching host hundreds of swimmers during summer months.

All groups meet 15 mins early in front of WSLSC:

Mid Week Mussels Free OW swim group- 6pm Wednesday.

Challenge Yourself – Learn to Swim in the Sea – 8am Saturdays.

Open Water Skills Group – 9am Saturdays- Learn about sighting, drafting, breathing, body position and tactical OW skills. For pool swimmers and triathletes.

The Mussels Free Swim Group – 10.30am Saturdays – Set your own distance and pace – “It’s not a race.”

Multiclass and Special Olympics OW Squad – 12noon on 11 November, 2 December, 11 December. For the first time, a supported inclusive, respectful OW squad for multiclass and Special Olympics athletes.

Contact Coach Jason to find out more.

Once I swam to Altona, and back …

Posted on February 16, 2017February 17, 2017 by JBryce

A swim from Williamstown Beach, out across the deep blue water to Altona Beach … and back? That’s 7.6km of swimming in the sea.

Are you crazy??

That’s what I first thought when the idea was put to me. I’m the guy squatting at bottom left of the picture above.

In the pic above are some very good swimmers. And then there’s me.

From the left, Freya is in the pink cap is super fit and so is Adam next to her. Vince at the back accompanied us on a Rescue Board. Grant, the muscleman at front & centre is an English Channel swimmer. Behind Grant is Faris and Simon (yellow cap). These two are talented freestylers who never stop, just like Joanie on the right.

In this pic (below) is the approximate course we take to Altona from Williamstown SLSC.

Leaving from the beach, we turn right at the end of the rock groyne and swim over “the Crystals.” This area is alive with plants, animals and every colour, but watch out for spiny urchins and sharp, slippery rocks.

At the end of the rock wall, we pass the old harbour and into Jawbone Marine Sanctuary we cruise.

Of everything to think about while swimming in the sea, I was most conscious of boats and powered water craft. But here I could relax and enjoy the sightseeing.

There’s no boats and no fishing allowed in Jawbone and volunteers are helping the marine environment recover and prosper here and all the way around the Bay to Point Cook.

From Jawbone we swim, via the boating markers, past the historic fishing village near the mouth of Kororoit Creek into Altona Coastal Park.

I thought I would stop at Altona Dog Beach and get a lift back with Mike, who kindly drove my towel and drink over. But everyone else was jumping back in to swim all the way back. I couldn’t be the only one stopping at halfway.

In the end I surprised myself and completed the 7.6km round trip. This was the first time I had ever completed a big swim out in the sea. My trip to Altona and back really opened my eyes up to a great experience.

I’ve been swimming in the sea every week since my trip to Altona, two years ago.