Open Water Swimming Educational -
Advanced level course

By Steven Munatones, Antonio ArgĂĽelles, and Chris Morgan in collaboration with ToSwim.

Buy the full course package now!

Presented By WOWSF

The World Open Water Swimming Federation (WOWSF) was founded in 2024 by Steven Munatones and Antonio ArgĂĽelles to provide a broad range of resources supporting the global growth and promotion of all forms of open water swimming, while recognizing exceptional solo and relay swims. WOWSF provides new and significantly expanded  next-generation content based on Munatones’ older WOWSA and 10kswim.com platforms

Course Description

*Please note: the course will be held in English 🇬🇧  Seats are limited and subject to minimum group formation, so make sure to secure your spot as soon as possible.

This course presents a comprehensive overview of the global community of open water swimming.  The course offers lessons to learn about Olympic and professional marathon swimming, stage swimming, ice swimming, channel swimming, and the creation of your own aquatic adventures.  

This course is built upon the first-hand experiences, observations, coaching, and organizing open water events that span the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania by Steven Munatones (English + Japanese), Antonio ArgĂĽelles (Spanish + English + German(, and Chris Morgan (English + French + German) from the 1980s to the present.

Take the entire course or only specific chapters that may be more appropriate to you and your goals.

We developed this program to educate and inspire people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to venture beyond the shores. We want to entertain and encourage you to share the wonderful opportunities and places to swim around the world. We cover all aspects of the sport of open water swimming — from Olympic swimming to channel crossings, from marathon swims to short cold-water swims.

Your increased knowledge will help you enjoy and appreciate the open water – and set new goals and challenges for yourself. The more information you know, the more opportunities in the open water will come your way.

👉 Develop your Blue IQ. Let us help guide you and further develop your interests, expand your knowledge, and further ignite your passion for the open water.

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Course program

Session 1 – January 15th

Duration: 2 hours

First 45 minutes
Goal: Understanding the world of open water swimming
Content: Overview of all open water swimming disciplines:

  • Channel swimming

  • Marathon swimming

  • Ice swimming

  • Stage swimming

  • Olympic open water swimming

  • Professional marathon swimming

  • Mass participation swims

  • Adventure swimming

  • Eco swimming

  • Charity swimming

  • Para swimming

  • Information resources: Marathon Swimmers Federation, International Ice Swimming Association, World Aquatics, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Openwaterpedia

Second 45 minutes
Goal: Understanding how to succeed in each discipline
Content: How to optimally prepare for each discipline:

  • Channel swimming

  • Marathon swimming

  • Ice swimming

  • Stage swimming

  • Olympic open water swimming

  • Professional marathon swimming

  • Mass participation swims

  • Adventure swimming

  • Eco swimming

  • Para swimming

Last 30 minutes
Goal: Questions and Answers

Duration: 2 hours

First 5 minutes
Goal: Getting inspiration and motivation
Content: Overview of the world’s greatest open water swimming feats:

  • Matthew Webb (GB)

  • Sarah Thomas (USA)

  • Mercedes Gleitze (GB)

  • Greta Andersen (Denmark/USA)

  • Penny Dean (USA)

  • Lynne Cox (USA)

  • George Young (Canada)

  • Ram Barkai (South Africa)

  • Martin van der Weijden (Netherlands)

  • Natalie du Toit (South Africa)

  • Lewis Pugh (GB/South Africa)

  • Oussama Mellouli (Tunisia)

  • Jaime Monahan (USA)

  • Ana Marcela Cunha (Brazil)

  • Taranath Narayan Shenoy (India)

  • Stephen Redmond (Ireland)

  • Sally Minty Gravett (GB)

  • Shelley Taylor-Smith (Australia)

  • Nora Toledano Cadena (Mexico)

  • James Pittar (Australia)

Second 45 minutes
Goal: Becoming your own hero and inspiring others
Content: How to create your own unprecedented open water adventure:

  • Initial vision, mission, and goal

  • Physiological training and psychological preparation

  • Logistical planning

  • Operational details for safely completing a swim of any distance, conditions, or location

  • Learning from other sports and adventurers

  • Marine life considerations

  • Extreme water and air temperatures

  • Weather and water conditions

  • Building a support team

  • Developing a global network

Last 30 minutes
Goal: Questions and Answers

Duration: 2 hours

First 45 minutes
Goal: Swim more efficiently and quickly in open water
Content: Techniques and skills to optimize speed, stamina, and efficiency:

  • Navigation in rough, wavy conditions

  • Arm strokes and kicking in different conditions

  • Breathing and sighting in varying conditions

  • Eggbeatering (treading water)

  • Bodysurfing and railroading

  • Pacing

  • Drafting and positioning in races

  • Feeding and hydrating during marathon swims

  • Selecting the right coach

Second 45 minutes
Goal: Get faster and stronger in open water
Content: Physiological preparation:

  • Increase shoulder strength

  • Develop core strength and strengthen lower back

  • Breathing without swallowing water or fishtailing

  • Quick feeding and hydration

  • Treading water

  • Utilize the power of the ocean

  • Working out with others

Last 30 minutes
Goal: Questions and Answers

Duration: 2 hours

First 45 minutes
Goal: Develop mental resilience in challenging situations
Content: How to build a strong mindset:

  • Know your strengths

  • Understand your weaknesses

  • Meditation techniques

  • Managing discomfort, pain, cold, injury, boredom, and lack of focus

  • Choosing the right support team

  • Isshin denshin (deep intuitive connection)

Second 45 minutes
Goal: Learn about specific workouts
Content: Types of training:

  • Pool workouts

  • Open water workouts

  • Dryland workouts

  • Solo training

  • Training with others

  • Training with a coach and a team

  • Training analytics and data collection

Last 30 minutes
Goal: Questions and Answers

Duration: 2 hours

First 45 minutes
Goal: Getting started in open water swimming
Content: How to enjoy and begin in the sport:

  • Required equipment: goggles, swim cap, ear plugs, transponders, feeding stations, Desitin, lanolin, techsuits

  • Onshore starts and finishes

  • Warm-up and restroom considerations

  • Training in various bodies of water

  • Dealing with marine life and rough water conditions

  • Race numbers, boat exhaust, waves, surf, jellyfish

  • Sunscreen and lanolin application

  • Turn buoys and physicality

  • Learning about the global open water swimming community and competitive events

Second 45 minutes
Goal: Reaching the Olympics and World Championships
Content: Overview of major events:

  • Olympic 10K Marathon Swim

  • World Championships: 3 km Knockout Sprints, 5 km race, 6 km mixed relay, 10 km race

  • Qualification and expectations

  • Technical meeting protocols (nail, jewelry, swimsuit checks)

  • Pontoon starts and in-water finishes on finish pad

  • Timing and placing

  • Rules: unsportsmanlike conduct, turn buoys, impeding, yellow/red flags

  • Physicality and wetsuit temperature ranges

  • DNS, OTL, DNF, DSQ

Last 30 minutes
Goal: Questions and Answers

Duration: 2 hours

First 45 minutes
Goal: Global opportunities for para swimmers
Content: Opportunities for swimmers with physical or intellectual disabilities:

  • Solo swims, recreational swimming, competitive events

  • Ice swimming, open water swimming, marathon swimming, channel swimming

  • Para V, Blue Journey Unified Programs, World Para Swimming, Special Olympics World Summer Games

Second 45 minutes
Goal: Developing a strong support team
Content: How coaches, parents, partners, teammates, children, grandparents, and donors can best support a swimmer:

  • In-water support: kayaking, escort piloting, paddling, crewing, post-swim support

  • Dryland support during pool and open water workouts

  • Support at home, school, office

  • Physiological, psychological, logistical, operational, and emotional support

  • Handling outcomes: success, DNF, or DNS

Last 30 minutes
Goal: Questions and Answers

Terms and Conditions of the Online Course

đź’Ą Special Launch Price: $399

Only for the first participants. Take your open water skills to the next level — guided by legends.

Limited spots available – Reserve yours now!

Open water swimming spans so many disciplines and niches - from cold water to warm water, from tranquil lakes to turbulent oceans, from fast-moving currents to changing tides, from short ocean sprints to long channel crossings, from jellyfish stings to shark encounters, from hypothermic conditions at night to hyperthermia risks in tropical seas," says Steven Munatones. "Each and every area of open water swimming can teach us somewhere more about what we can expect the next time we venture past the shorelines. The more we experience and learn, the better prepared we become to swim, coach, mentor, and assist others in the open bodies of water around the world. Since the 1970's, we have been endeavoring to educate, entertain, and enthuse all those who venture beyond the shores. Join us and help share the wonders and beauty, the opportunities and adventures that present themselves in the open waters of Planet Earth.

A Masterclass by the Pioneers of Open Water

🌊 Dive Into the Experience

Six live, interactive sessions — every two weeks — packed with practical knowledge, race strategy, and real-world insights.

⏱️ Each session includes:

  • 75 minutes of expert content (max 40 slides)
  • 45 minutes of live Q&A and in-depth discussion
  • Bonus materials included!

Antonio ArgĂĽelles

Steven Munatones

CHRIS
MORGAN

ANTONIO ARGĂśELLES

Antonio ArgĂĽelles is a world-renowned Mexican open water swimmer, educator, and author. A graduate of Stanford University, he has held key roles in the Mexican government and currently works as an education policy consultant.

Driven by an unshakable passion for swimming, Antonio is one of the very few athletes to have completed the Oceans Seven challenge—earning a Guinness World Record as the oldest person to do so. He has also completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming three times and holds another Guinness World Record as the oldest person to complete a double Catalina Channel crossing. His accomplishments include the first Mexican double crossing of the Catalina Channel and the creation of Brazada Abrazada, an educational project that merges swimming and social impact.

Antonio is an Honor Swimmer inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and the author of The Forever Swim, a book chronicling his most challenging swims and the valuable life lessons he has learned along the way.

STEVEN MUNATONES
Steven Munatones is the founder of the World Open Water Swimming Association and the World Open Water Swimming Federation. He also created the Oceans Seven challenge, the WOWSA Awards, Openwaterpedia, and the Daily News of Open Water Swimming.
He has coached 11 different U.S. national teams at the World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships.
Steven is the author of Open Water Swimming, a book translated into German, Chinese, Polish, and Spanish.

He has led open water swimming clinics in Canada, Mexico, the United States, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Singapore, and Japan and commentated at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for NBC-TV.

As an athlete, he has won several open water competitions, including the 25 km Windermere International Championships and the 62 km 4-day SCAR Swim, completed several unprecedented marathon swims, and holds the course record for the Tsugaru Channel in Japan.

He has written over 21,000 articles on open water swimming, appeared in several documentary films, and created dozens of new open water terms ranging from neoprene and Mellouli Double to Ice Sevens and the Pyramid of Open Water Success.

CHRIS MORGAN

Chris Morgan is a multilingual swimming coach with experience at the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World University Games. He has also coached at prestigious institutions such as Stanford University and Harvard University as well as been a long-time team coach for the Swiss National Swim Team and the USA Swimming National Team. He holds a master’s degree in Human Movement and is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of Lausanne (to be awarded in 2026). Chris has coached Olympic athletes in swimming, track and field, and bobsled, as well as professional teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL).

He is an expert in stroke mechanics and in post-workout and post competition recovery techniques. Chris also served as a swimming commentator for French television during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Would you like to complete your training with a live, hands-on experience alongside the WOWSF and ToSwim team?

Be the first to discover our live course with WOWSF and ToSwim.

Pre-register Now

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