A picture can be worth a thousand words... especially when the subject is something as difficult to describe as how to swim. Endurance Films, the creators of the excellent running instructional DVD Evolution Running, have turned their hands to open-water swimming in the descriptively named Open Water Swimming: Skills, Techniques, and Racing Tips. The target audience here is clearly triathletes, who start off their event with a racing segment in the water, but some of the material is also relevant to swimmers in pools.

The program is presented in a straightforward way, without any distracting gimmicks (though also without the charm or flair that we got in Triathlon: Racing Faster). Basic information is presented in bullet-point format on-screen, and then the program expands on those points. The most useful aspect of Open Water Swimming is the footage of a swimmer demonstrating correct and incorrect technique; here, the opportunity to see the right way to do the movement contrasted with the wrong way helps solidify the concept. In addition to going over stroke technique, the program also discusses how to handle entering the water and other aspects of a triathlon event.

All in all, Open Water Swimming offers a useful package of information for viewers who are looking for information about improving their swimming technique. The only real problem with the program is that it's very short. The main feature only runs about 33 minutes, so as you can imagine, there's not a lot of time spent on any one topic. As a result, Open Water Swimming feels more like an overview than a full-fledged instructional program. But although it's brief, the content is solid, so considering the lack of other material on the topic, Open Water Swimming has merit for swimmers who want to improve their racing ability.

The DVD

Video

Open Water Swimming is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The image is slightly soft, but otherwise perfectly satisfactory for an instructional program.

Audio

The soundtrack is unexceptional, offering a clean and clear track with no problems.

Extras

About 12 minutes of special features are included. We get a selection of swimming-related tips from Triathlon: Racing Faster (featuring the much better narrator, Wes Hobson), and a moderately interesting interview with the "Ultra-Triathlon Champion of the Americas."

Final thoughts

Open Water Swimming is a brief but useful instructional program that provides a solid introduction to how to swim better in the open water. My only real quibble is with the short running time, which is 33 minutes for the main program and another 12 for special features, which doesn't add up to the claimed 65-minute running time on the back of the DVD case even when they're added together. The content is good, though, so for viewers who are interested in improving their open-water swimming skills, especially triathletes, the DVD is probably worth a purchase. Recommended.