Demographics of Open Water Swimming

We were asked about the demographics of open water swimming. It was our uneducated guess that the demographics of open water swimming is similar to the demographics of mobile phone users, but the question got the best of our curiosity.



We looked at the 2.8K Harbour Crossing race in Auckland conducted by the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series organized by Scott Rice, one of the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year candidates, and this is what we found among the 1,413 participants:

The average age was 36.54 years old with a median age of 37.

35.3% of the swimmers were female and 65.7% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:

Women 0-14 years: 2.9% of the total
Women 15-19 years: 3.4%
Women 20-29 years: 6.7%
Women 30-39 years: 9.6%
Women 40-49 years: 8.1%
Women 50-59 years: 3.6%
Women 60-69 years: 0.5%
Women 70-99 years: 0.1%

Men 0-14 years: 2.5% of the total
Men 15-19 years: 3.9%
Men 20-29 years: 8.9%
Men 30-39 years: 18.0%
Men 40-49 years: 19.6%
Men 50-59 years: 8.5%
Men 60-69 years: 2.4%
Men 70-99 years: 0.5%

We compared the relatively new New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Harbour Crossing Race with the 38th annual 2.4-mile 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim in Honolulu and we found some not-surprisingly similar data:

35.5% of the swimmers were female and 65.5% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:

Women 0-14 years: 3.7% of the total
Women 15-18 years: 3.9%
Women 19-29 years: 5.6%
Women 30-39 years: 8.9%
Women 40-49 years: 6.5%
Women 50-59 years: 4.9%
Women 60-69 years: 1.5%
Women 70-99 years: 0.4%

Men 0-14 years: 3.5% of the total
Men 15-18 years: 3.2%
Men 19-29 years: 7.0%
Men 30-39 years: 13.4%
Men 40-49 years: 17.5%
Men 50-59 years: 14.3%
Men 60-69 years: 4.2%
Men 70-99 years: 1.0%

So, if we had to guess using these limited statistics from these two races (one relatively new race in Auckland, New Zealand and one with nearly four decades of history in Honolulu, Hawaii), the average open water swimmer is a 40-year-old, but the sport really spans all age groups.Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association