STA has trained thousands of open water swimming coaches over the years and as further support for this thriving sector, we are launching an STA Open Water Venue Affiliation programme today, to help open water venues gain recognition from a national governing body in swimming.

Luke Griffiths, STA’s Technical Qualifications and Business Development Manager, said: “The online STA Open Water Venue Affiliation programme has been designed to support open water venues operating at a safe and nationally recognised standard, so that they can proudly showcase their commitment to maintaining the highest standards of health and safety, business procedures, and customer service.”

The first open water venues to gain STA affiliated status are run by Swimyourswim, and Leon Fryer, the company’s co-founder, who is passionate about seeing as many people as possible swimming safely in open water, said: “We believe the STA affiliated open water venue programme is an important step on the road to supporting open water venues to operate at a safe and nationally recognised standard in their delivery of open water swimming. It will also allow swimmers to choose venues, confident in the knowledge that the venue has achieved a level of competency with their safety first and foremost.”

“It was also great to work with the STA on the development of this programme, and to be the first to receive recognition for our venues – Hatfield Outdoor Activity Centre & Thrybergh Country Park. We look forward to supporting other venues to achieve their STA affiliated status,” confirmed Leon.

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