• Elite racing is important, but the real story is in the saltwater – where participation is exploding and community is everything.
• Ocean swimming isn’t a pathway, it’s a destination – and it’s bringing partners, families, and whole generations into the sport.
• If we want swimming to thrive, we need to stop chasing memberships and start embracing the movement that’s already alive on our beaches.

By Andre Slade – Owner, Ocean Swims

Australia’s open water scene (the competitive racing type) has always struck me as a curious thing. On one hand, it’s small, niche, and often overlooked. On the other hand, every state manages to stage its own open water championships each summer, culminating in the Australian Open Water Championships.

New guidance, new momentum

There’s no doubt there’s momentum at the elite end. In 2024, Fernando Possenti – the Brazilian mastermind behind Ana Marcela Cunha’s legendary career – was appointed as Australia’s open water head coach. Soon after, the Australian Open Water Cup was launched to give the discipline a stronger national profile. And with the new 3km Knockout Sprint format already debuting here, the sport is looking to innovate and excite.

Where the real opportunity lies

But here’s the thing: the vast majority of people swimming in the open water aren’t chasing medals or titles. They’re out there for fitness, for fun, for connection, for coffee afterwards. Social ocean swimming is booming, and it reflects how Australians are engaging with sport more broadly – less structured, more social, more about community and lifestyle than clubs and pathways.

This is where the real opportunity lies. Not in trying to funnel ocean swimmers into the elite system, but in recognising ocean swimming as a sport and culture in its own right. If resources, funding, and support were directed towards growing this social base, the whole sport would benefit.

Ocean swimming could even serve as a “reverse funnel” – a way of bringing new people into the swimming ecosystem. Many who join their local swim group today never saw themselves as swimmers in the traditional sense. Some might go on to compete, others will stay in the social lane, but either way, the base of the sport grows. And when adults discover the sport this way, it often sparks a ripple effect: partners and friends join in, kids grow up around it, and whole families find themselves engaged with swimming in a way they never were before. It’s not just participation – it’s generational impact.

Strategies that miss the mark

The frustrating part is that this is exactly what the Australian Sports Commission’s PlayWell Strategy and Swimming Australia’s own SwimWell Strategy miss completely. Both are obsessed with “membership” and pathways, as if the only way to value participation is through a club system or a line into elite competition. That’s not how Australians – or people anywhere in the world – are engaging with sport now, or how they will in the future.

Even more glaring is PlayWell’s complete sidestepping of the role mass-participation events play in driving sport engagement. Ocean swims, fun runs, community triathlons – these are the real engines of participation, but they’re invisible in the strategy. Having directly questioned one of the PlayWell leaders, it was obvious even to them that the strategy has no chance of succeeding. It’s built on yesterday’s assumptions, not today’s reality.

Infrastructure for the few, not the many

And it’s not just strategies – it’s infrastructure, too. Public pools are still being built or refurbished with the same narrow focus: lap lanes for training, shallow pools for learn-to-swim. What’s missing are spaces for play, fun, and exploration – the kinds of experiences that welcome people who aren’t interested in doing laps or can’t afford structured lessons. This forgotten section of the community is huge, and yet they’re offered almost nothing. By designing out unstructured aquatic play, we’re closing the door on one of the most natural and joyful ways people connect with water.

A step in the right direction

At the event level, there are genuine efforts being made. Many state championships now add community swims to their programs, and even the national titles have looked to broaden access in the same way. These are welcome steps, and flat-water open water racing should absolutely hold its place as the pinnacle of elite competition.

Swimming WA has long been the exception here, with a multi-event open water series that’s been running for years and is now deeply ingrained in the state’s swimming calendar. It shows what’s possible when participation is taken seriously and given a consistent platform.

But across most of the country, simply adding a community swim to a championship isn’t enough on its own to shift the dial. What’s needed is a more holistic strategy that recognises ocean swimming as something different – less structured, more social, and deeply tied to lifestyle and community. If those worlds can be engaged in a more meaningful way, the sport will be stronger from top to bottom.

Legends in the surf

There’s also a cultural opportunity we’re overlooking. Ocean swimmers would love nothing more than to see the legends of open water at our events – and even to race beside them. That kind of shoulder-to-shoulder experience is quintessentially Australian. We see it in surf lifesaving, the birthplace of ocean swimming culture, where champions have always raced on the same sand and surf as the everyday competitor.

At SwimCon, Fernando Possenti spoke about wanting our top open water swimmers to dive into more ocean swims. No doubt he had practice and training value in mind, but the real benefit goes beyond performance. Ocean swim events are the perfect stage for everyday swimmers – especially kids – to connect with their heroes. To line up beside them, to watch them in action, to share the same stretch of ocean – that’s how you inspire. Hiding our champions away at national championships, in serious race mode behind the barriers, doesn’t achieve that. If we want to ignite the next generation, we need to bring the champions to the people, not the other way around.

A chance to connect

With new leadership, new formats, and fresh ideas coming from the states, the timing feels right. If Swimming Australia and the ASC can broaden their vision to truly embrace ocean swimming and mass participation, it won’t just strengthen pathways – it will revitalise the sport at its base.

Because this isn’t about choosing one or the other. Open water racing will always be the pinnacle of elite competition, and it deserves that place. But ocean swimming is the foundation – the social, accessible, everyday expression of the sport that keeps people in the water for life.

And when people come to swimming this way, it doesn’t stop with them. Adults who discover ocean swimming often bring partners, friends, and children along too, creating a ripple that spreads through families and communities. That’s the kind of generational impact no membership strategy can manufacture – and it’s why ocean swimming should be at the heart of Australia’s swimming future.