The last day of swimming lessons and (unofficial) swimming badges


The last day of swimming lessons always loomed large. There would be no treading water or long swims, no head-tilt-chin-lifts on the deck, just diving for nickels and gold coins in the deep end and playing frozen tag in the shallow end. All fun and games until the last few moments where you'd stand, shivering on the deck, waiting for the instructor to call your name and hand you your report card, thick with a badge stapled to the inside corner, or crushingly thin if you hadn't passed.

It has been years – 20 to be exact – since I passed my last swimming class, and I was surprised to feel that same rush of equal parts excitement and nervousness on Tuesday for my son's final class. Granted, he's not even 2, we only made it to 4 lessons (which, just so we're clear I see as Victory x4) and it took him a while to get comfortable in the water each time, but he did! It was incredible how much his comfort level grew – he jumped in more than once and went all the way under water! He learned to blow bubbles! And kick! Now, when he sees illustrations of pools, he says "I jump!" And when we talk about swimming, he jumps. "Swimming! I jump!" Huge wins. All of them.

So imagine my disappointment when not only did he not get a badge, he didn't even get a report card. Bah! Not cool, instructor, not okay (and yes, I'm following up with the facility...!)

He might not have gotten an official badge, but he got a badge – a handmade one to go with the one he got last fall – because jumping in and blowing bubbles need to be both commemorated and celebrated!


(Pssst: If you know a kid, or adult, who needs an LZV-embroidered badge, head over here. I love nothing more than making badges to celebrate accomplishments big and small!)
  • Lindsay
  • Wednesday, November 30, 2016

It's the little things: A bathing cap for long hair


I have a lot of hair – like, when I was dancing, I overdeveloped my neck muscles from holding up my huge pile of hair a lot. And it's long. Which is fine usually except for the 3-4 times a week I try to shove it all in a bathing cap. I can't even count the number of times I've had caps split poolside, or snap back on my forehead leaving behind bright red welts.

Until now! I stumbled on a "long hair" swim cap and it has entirely changed my swims. It's silky instead of rip-your-hat-out rubbery and there's room enough for my bun/ponytail without giving me an instant mind-splitting headache (you know the one). 

NOTE: This is not sponsored, and there might be other long hair caps out there, but this silver Speedo gem is pure long hair swimming heaven. Best $17 I've spent in a long while. 
  • Lindsay
  • Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Swimterview: Jessica J. Lee + wild swimming in Berlin

Jessica J. Lee / Photo by Paul Capewell

Two things I have never swum with: a touque and a hammer. But Canadian-born, Berlin-based Jessica J. Lee swims with both on the regular (WHA!). I met this swimmer on Twitter and am so inspired by her Berlin swim-ventures, her winter swimming and her upcoming book, Turning, that charts her swim in 52 swimming holes in and around Berlin.

LZV: How did you get into wild swimming? 
JL: I started swimming in lakes when I lived in Nova Scotia a decade ago – I had been scared of lakes my entire life so it was a big deal to start swimming in them. But I really picked up wild swimming when I was living in London, swimming at the Hampstead Heath Ladies' Pond. It's one of the world's few women's only swim spots, and is the only one in Europe that is open every single day of the year. It is pure magic.

LZV: You swim all year round. Outside. (Just typing that gives me goosebumps!) How did you start? Why do you do it?? Do you have any tips/strategies for extra cold swims? How long do you swim for? Do you swim-swim? Front crawl? Breaststroke? Paddle about?
JL: I started winter swimming a couple of years ago when I was preparing for my doctoral fieldwork with winter swimmers at the Ladies' Pond. I had always swum a long season, but had never made it through winter until then. I slowly built up by swimming consistently after summer ended. I try to swim a minimum of once a week (ideally three times) and when the temperature really dips (below 8 degrees) I start counting my strokes. 

The winter is the best part – the way it changes the body, brings you to life. In the depths of winter, if I'm breaking ice (I carry a hammer in winter!), I'll swim a minimum of 45 strokes. At that point, I'm swimming breaststroke while wearing a wooly toque. It's not so much a workout as it is cold water therapy!

LZV: Wild swimming is huge in Europe, but not really here, in Canada. Is it because it's too cold here? Any insights on why?
JL: I think the term 'wild swimming' is sort of a funny thing in the Canadian context. In Britain, it has made sense to really 'reclaim' the idea of swimming in lakes, rivers, and the sea, but in Canada we have such an entrenched lake swimming culture, so it doesn't seem like a vital term here. Really, it just means swimming in natural bodies of water/outdoors. In Ontario especially, it's a bit harder to swim through winter—though I've done Great Lakes swims in winter—but on the coasts, winter swimming is definitely happening. 

LZV: What are the differences between outdoor swimming in London/Berlin/Toronto?
JL: I think the big differences is access to lakes and swimming holes. In London, there are really only two decent options within the city itself – the ponds on Hampstead Heath and the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Toronto is also a bit frustrating for this reason – safe access to the lake is so limited to the east end or the Islands. I often find myself trekking across town for a five minute swim in wintertime. In Berlin and the surrounding countryside, there are actually thousands of lakes, so it's possible to swim pretty easily wherever you are. It becomes more a part of everyday life.

LZV: What are some of your favourite swimming holes?
JL: I love swimming off the dock at my parents' cottage in the Trent Severn Waterway – it's familiar, comforting. The Ladies' Pond on Hampstead Heath – the most beautiful and secluded swims in a lovely community of badass women. And the many lakes of Berlin... my weekly swim is Weisser See, an urban lake in a park, because it's near my house. But I love so many lakes here: sandy, clear lakes like Habermannsee, which was a quarry; forest lakes like Bötzsee; enormous blue swathes of water like Wandlitzsee. There are too many to choose from.

LZV: You're writing a swimming book (!!) So amazing and I love the "rules" for your 52 swimming holes:  no swimming pools, no wetsuits. All the lakes must be reachable by public transport, bike, or on foot. All must be reasonable distances (i.e. day trips) from central Berlin. I almost can't imagine being able to access so many different lakes from a city centre. What have been some highlights? What has been completely unexpected?
JL: Writing Turning was such an extraordinary time for me. I spent an entire year exploring the lakes near my home in Berlin, which allowed me to really begin to feel at home in the landscape here. It's strange, but I know my way around the countryside near Berlin better than anywhere in the world now! The whole process had highs and lows - it was a beautiful, enlivening experience to swim through the seasons, but it also began to grate at some points, when I was tired of trekking out every weekend and just wanted to hide away for winter. 

I didn't expect to find it as frustrating or emotional as I did. It took a lot of mental wrangling, not least because I was trying to finish my PhD at the same time. But now that it's all done, I feel stronger for it. I think it taught me a lot about how strong I am, and that I can often be a bit too hard on myself (like, say, forcing myself to swim in 52 lakes...). The people here in Berlin and Brandenburg were so encouraging and kind throughout the process, and that really helped. And my German improved a fair bit. The book is out in June in Canada with Hamish Hamilton/Penguin Canada.

Some of my swimming links/tips:
The UK Outdoor Swimming Society has a great Instagram feed.

When I was working on my book I became obsessed with lake science, so I love Sally Warring's Instagram feed, which is mostly microscopic videos of algae.

My lovely swim buddy Nell Frizzell wrote a guide to winter swimming for the Guardian a couple years ago.

Amy Liptrot's memoir, The Outrun, about recovery and the islands of Orkney feature some beautiful passages on winter swimming. A must read.

Thanks so much, Jessica!!!
  • Lindsay
  • Monday, November 14, 2016

Blog Archive

Labels

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 52 lakes A Big Deep Breath A Comparison a veritable miracle A-plus west end pools accessories alex duff pool algonquin park all the pools all the swimming holes aquafit Aquatic Centre in Regent Park argentina Art Art of the Swim atlantic ocean Awenda baby shampoo backyard pools Backyard wading pool badges bancroft bancroft and the Kawarthas bathing caps bathing suits Beach bears berlin bingo blogging blowing bubbles books Buckskin Lake buenos aires bunchfamily butterfly cambridge Camp Tanamakoon canoeing carilo Catskills CBC CBC Radio cheddar ontario Chicago Chlorine christie pits christmas claire cliff jumping coach dave Coaching insight cocktails cold water swimming Collecting Colouring cottage cottageing courage COVID-19 Covidcation Craft crowd-courced crowns ctv news dave ling Dawson's Pond docktail docktails Donald Summerville Pool dreaming of swimming driveway puddle earlscourt park edmonton elora elora quarry English Channel Etobicoke etsy Europe every single fast lane Extreme Heat Alert Fall 2017 fall swimming fast lane first swim Flesherton flipturns floating fouling French 75 Gallagher Centre gary clement gatineau Gatineau River Georgian Bay germany gifts Giovanni Caboto Giovanni Caboto pool goggles Great Lake great lakes Grey County guardian swim Guest blog guest swim Habermannsee Haliburton halloween Hampstead Heath Ladies' Pond Hanlan's Point heaven High Park high park pool highlight reel highlights homebody homemade badges Homstead hotel pool iceland illustration inclusive change rooms indoor pool Indoor Pools instagram Intercontinental Yorkville interview jack jessica j. lee jon klassen Joy julia zarankin jump jumping jumping in kate greene kate pugsley kawartha dairy kawarthas Kelso kerry clare kiddos kiki and polly Killbear Provincial Park kinmount Lake lake erie lake huron Lake Kennebec lake la peche Lake Louise Lake Ontario Lake Ontario and pools lake swimming Lake Temiskaming lakes lambton kingsway pool Laura Wills leanne shapton leeches length swim leo lionni lessons Letting Go lido lidos lifeguard towers lifeguarding Lindsay Lindsay Recreation Centre lindsay sutherland Lindsay Zier-Vogel lisa congdon lisa golightly local swimming hole london long distances long hair long hair caps Long point long point provincial park loons love love lettering project Lucky Peach manhattan pools margrit talpalaru Marilyn Bell mark tewksbury martha graham martingrove bears master swim club mat leave matisse Meaford meghan markle melodrama memoir Memory Mendoza Metro Morning michael phelps Michigan lakes Middle America Miles Nadal JCC minnow bathers miracle miranda july missing MoMA my local myvatn nature baths natural pools nebraska new pool new pools new year New Year's Eve new years new york city Newfoundland night swimming nightswimming norman hardie nova scotia novel ocean ocean swimming olympic pool olympics olympics 2016 ontario Oshawa Oshawa apartment pool outdoor pools outdoor swimming pack and play paddle paddling pam mcconnell aquatic centre pandemic pandemic swims papirmass park lawn pool parklawn pool parks and rec patrice hall pattern design PEC pells pool penny olesiak perfectionist PFDs photos picton pinehurst lake pisces poetry Polar Bear Dip pond Pondering Pool pool swimming Pool: Sunnyside pools poolsitting prairies pregnancy pregnant prince edward county prince harry PSA public pools quarry Quebec Radiohead railcar cottage rain reading recipe recipes relay report cards resolutions Rhya Tamasauskas Rio de la Plata River river swimming rivers road trip road trips roadtrip rocktails rosehall run royal wedding runner running salt water saltwater pool sandbanks Saskatchewan sauble beach Saugeen Schoolhouse Riviera sculpture seaweed secret swim shade's mills Shannon Litzenberger Shebeshekong Bay Sketchbook skimmer skinny dipping skinnydipping slow lane smores smythe park pool smythe pool snacks sprinting st. john's legends swim club stedmans Stirling submission suburbs summer summer 2016 Summer 2017 summer 2018 summer 2019 summer camp summerary sundhollin Sunnyside Sunnyside beach Sunnyside Pool sunrise sunsets superhero splash suzanne moreau swim swim art swim blog swim crown swim goals swim lit Swim Mantra Swim Meme Swim retreat Swim Rituals Swim Scenes swim tether swim weekend Swim-ventures swimiracle swimlit swimming swimming attire swimming caps swimming friends swimming hole swimming holes swimming hotel swimming lessons swimming pool swimming pools swimming song swimmy swimply Swimsuits tall poppy tanamakoon tanis rideout team mermaids Team Swim technique thanksgiving the 6ix The Beach The Beaches The Deep End this is not my hat tilley hat tips TMU toddler toddlers Toronto Toronto Island Toronto Masters of the Universe toronto pools trackpants transistor radio travel ontario Travel Stories travel writing triathlon turning twelve mile lake Twitter Two Lakes UK underpants uniform University of Toronto Uruguay user guide Varsity vicki smith wading pool warming stations Wasaga Beach Water water therapy waterfalls watermarks weeds Weisser See west end west end phoenix West End Toronto westview beach villas whip kick wild swimming Wilder Lake Wills Laura winery winter picnic winter stations winter swimming worlds smallest bookstore writing xmas Yorkton zier-vogel lindsay
©2016 Lindsay, Rhya & Laura.
... Powered by Blogger.