Hello everyone! I mentioned in one of my previous posts (Open Water Racing) that I will explain in further detail about drafting with some Tips & Tricks, hope you find this post helpful.
- Definition of Drafting:
Drafting is when there are two or more swimmers swimming beside each other, the drafting swimmer will swim either directly beside the lead swimmer (at the hip of the lead swimmer) or directly behind them. The lead swimmer will make the water smoother and depending on the water conditions e.g. surface-chop can break the chop allowing the drafting swimmer to swim easier with less effort. If the lead swimmer speeds up or slows down the drafting swimmer will try to swim at the same speed as the lead swimmer.
- How to practice Drafting in training:
In my experience I have practiced drafting in both pool and open water. In the pool we practiced drafting in turns, one person or two (depending on lane size) swim side by side and if there were other swimmers, they would swim behind the leader(s) with everyone taking turns at leading and drafting. As for open water, training was like that of pool training, the difference being there are no walls or lane ropes to guide you and you learn to draft in different conditions.
Tip: It is important to note that drafting in open water a swimmer must remain aware of the conditions and the swimmer he/she is drafting off. In open water you can easily become distracted, for safety reasons I recommend that you stay focused when swimming.
- Advantages of Drafting:
Drafting can save energy by allowing the other swimmer to do all the hard work in leading you in the direction you are swimming saving you from having to sight often. Also allowing another swimmer to lead, by swimming beside them allows you to swim in smoother water, as they are facing the water head on and creating a bow effect in the water beside them which is easier to swim in.
Trick: It is important to understand that the only thing you can control in a race is yourself, not what your competitors do. If you do decide to draft off another swimmer, I would advise you to sight for yourself to ensure you are swimming in the right direction.
- Disadvantage of Drafting:
Drafting like most things have pros and cons. The disadvantage of drafting is the swimmer leading could possibly be swimming in the wrong direction, this has happened to me on a few occasions, it is easy to just assume that they are good at sighting, this is why I recommend that you too sight for yourself.
I hope these Tips & Tricks helped you gain a better understanding of drafting and how to use it for racing in open water. Hope you enjoyed the post and stay tuned for more upcoming posts! Don’t forget to hit the follow button!
Swimming Tips & Tricks 