Open Water Swimming Demographics Around the World

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

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 five races around the world: (1) the 2009 2.8 km Harbour Crossing race in Auckland organized by Scott Rice of the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series, (2) the 38th annual 2.4-mile 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim in Honolulu, Hawaii, (3) the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile held in San Francisco, California and organized by Bob Placak, (4) the 1.8 km Sandycove Island Challenge in Sandycove, Kinsale, Co Cork, Ireland, and (5) the 2008 2K Vibes & Scribes Lee Swim in Lee, Ireland.

1,413 swimmers participated in the 2.8 km Harbour Crossing race. This is what we found:

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%

At the 2.4-mile 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim, we found similar data among the 638 swimmers:

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%

At the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile, we found these statistics among the 742 swimmers:

The average age was 34.8 years old with a median age of 37.

41.7% of the swimmers were female and 58.3% were male.

The age groups consisted of the following percentages:



Women 0-14 years: 4.8% of the total
Women 15-19 years: 9.9%
Women 20-29 years: 4.3%
Women 30-39 years: 6.7%
Women 40-49 years: 9.3%
Women 50-59 years: 5.2%
Women 60-69 years: 1.2%
Women 70-99 years: 0.0%

Men 0-14 years: 3.2% of the total
Men 15-19 years: 6.8%
Men 20-29 years: 6.8%
Men 30-39 years: 11.8%
Men 40-49 years: 18.7%
Men 50-59 years: 7.4%
Men 60-69 years: 2.9%
Men 70-99 years: 0.4%

60.5% of the swimmers did not wear wetsuits and 39.5% of the swimmers did wear wetsuits. 63.1% of the men did not wear wetsuits and. 57.3% of the women did not wear wetsuits. 36.9% of the men wore wetsuits and 42.7% of the women wore wetsuits.

At the 2008 Sandycove Island Challenge, we found these statistics among the 259 entered swimmers:

39.3% of the swimmers were female and 60.7% were male.

49.4% of the swimmers did not wear wetsuits and 50.6% of the swimmers did wear wetsuits. 51.6% of the men did not wear wetsuits and 46.0% of the women did not wear wetsuits. 48.4% of the men wore wetsuits and 54.0% of the women wore wetsuits.

Of the swimmers who did not wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-17 years: 0.3% of the total
Women 18-29 years: 2.3%
Women 30-39 years: 7.7%
Women 40-49 years: 2.7%
Women 50-59 years: 3.9%
Women 60-69 years: 1.9%
Women 70-99 years: 0.0%

Men 0-17 years: 0.7% of the total
Men 18-29 years: 6.6%
Men 30-39 years: 7.7%
Men 40-49 years: 8.4%
Men 50-59 years: 5.4%
Men 60-69 years: 1.9%
Men 70-99 years: 0.3%

Of the swimmers who did wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-24 years: 1.5% of the total
Women 25-34 years: 8.4%
Women 35-44 years: 6.9%
Women 45-54 years: 4.2%

Men 0-24 years: 1.5% of the total
Men 25-34 years: 7.7%
Men 35-44 years: 13.5%
Men 45-54 years: 3.4%
Men 55-64 years: 3.0%

At the 2008 Vibes & Scribes Lee Swim, we found these statistics among the 277 entered swimmers:

28.5% of the swimmers were female and 71.5% were male.

71.8% of the swimmers did not wear wetsuits and 28.2% of the swimmers did wear wetsuits. 69.6% of the men did not wear wetsuits and 77.2% of the women did not wear wetsuits. 21.4% of the men wore wetsuits and 22.8% of the women wore wetsuits.

Of the swimmers who did not wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-17 years: 1.0% of the total
Women 18-29 years: 5.5%
Women 30-39 years: 5.7%
Women 40-49 years: 4.3%
Women 50-59 years: 3.6%
Women 60-69 years: 2.1%
Women 70-99 years: 0.0%

Men 0-17 years: 2.1% of the total
Men 18-29 years: 1.8%
Men 30-39 years: 14.8%
Men 40-49 years: 12.2%
Men 50-59 years: 7.9%
Men 60-69 years: 3.6%
Men 70-99 years: 0.0%

Of the swimmers who did wear wetsuits, we found the following statistics:

Women 0-24 years: 1.0% of the total
Women 25-34 years: 2.1%
Women 35-44 years: 1.8%
Women 45-54 years: 1.4%

Men 0-24 years: 1.4% of the total
Men 25-34 years: 7.9%
Men 35-44 years: 6.5%
Men 45-54 years: 2.1%
Men 55-64 years: 3.6%

Photo of Britta Kamrau at the RCP Tiburon Mile by Elliott Karlan.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Circumnavigation Dedication

Open water swimmers around the world continue to trudge to the seashore or lakeshore day after day, month after month, year after year. They share a love of the outdoors and the joys and challenges that oceans and lakes bring. Mike Harris, a former winner of the Lee Swim in Ireland, who is perhaps typical of these open water stalwarts.

Mike has completed over 1,000 roundtrip swims of Sandycove Island (shown below), totaling over 1,931K (1,200 miles) during the past 15 years while never missing any one of the monthly swims.

Even a second knee replacement was not enough to stop Mike during 2008. 25 of his colleagues recently got together in the 9.4°C (49°F) water around Sandycove Island to celebrate Mike’s return to the sea, only a few weeks after Mike’s surgery. Mike had the honor to lead the pack out to the island, although his circulation was not back to normal.

One English Channel swimmer commented, "Mike was clearly struggling, but I sure wasn't going to try to pass between him and the rocks of the Island – I tried it once a few years ago in a race and still have the scratches to prove it."

We smile at the thought – because we know better than we take the best line from an passionate open water swimmer – no matter his age or physical condition.

An Irish Swim With a Twist

For nearly 100 years, the Lee Swim has continued its storied history as one of the top open water swimming events in Ireland. The race is conducted annually in July in the Lee River in Cork in southern Ireland.

The 2K course in the Lee River runs through the center of the City where crowds in excess of an estimated 5,000 gather from bridges to cheer on the swimmers. The first Lee Swim was held in 1914 with over 300 swimmers have entered in recent years.

The swim has an interesting twist: 1.7K of the course is downstream in the Lee River and the last 300 meters is conducted upstream. The course can be seen here.

A newer swim on the Irish open water swimming circuit is the Sandycove Island Challenge which has been held annually in Sandycove since 1994. The 1.8K course starts from the slipway at Sandycove, wraps around Sandycove Island and returns to the slipway. The Cork Masters Swimming Club and the Cork Lions Club organize the swim as a joint charity event held annually in September.

We had previously noted Sandycove Island as one of the great circumnavigational swims in the world. Sandycove Island is the venue of nearly 150 swims each year and is an excellent training location for those preparing for an English Channel attempt with its clean crisp water, visible sunken reefs and waving sea plants.