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Swimming
Open water swimming is poised to grow with new competitive opportunities for college teams
Heavy Or Not, The OG Swim Guide›
Jul 23, 20268:04
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Swimming
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In Heavy Or Not, #106, we bring a dream into reality for long-time Southern Illinois University Head Swim & Dive Coach, presently retired, Rick Walker.
Open Water Festival Sign up at https://swimisca.org/event/east-coast-open-water/
News Release about College Teams at https://read.swimisca.org/courses/open-water/lessons/isca-hosts-open-water-festivals/topic/press-release-college-swimming-gets-an-upgrade-in-september-with-a-5k-and-open-water-knockout/
Open water as an additional collegiate season – benefits for Title IX compliance and athlete counts.
East Coast Open Water Festival at Smith Mountain Lake (Sept 2026) is with a new college & university division.
Race formats: knockout 1,500 m, 5K, 1‑mile, splash‑and‑dash (swim + run) and more.
How open water training boosts pool performance for distance and sprint swimmers.
Resources & future events: online prep course (reed.swimisca.org), May Jamestown meet, coach/parent participation.
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"Open water swimming is poised to grow with new competitive opportunities for college teams" is an episode of Heavy Or Not, The OG Swim Guide. Runtime 8 min. Published July 23, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.
