Swim tests are one of your most important jobs as captains as they are required for every rower and cox at Oxford. It is the responsibility of clubs to ensure that their club has safe practices, including requiring all rowers and coxes to be sufficiently proficient swimmers. These rules, from OURCs and COUR, are designed to assist club safety and will be strictly enforced. OURCs insists that all event participants have passed an OURCs swim test. For full information, which all rowers should read, see: Swim Tests.

The rules are summarised as follows (see 2.4.a. for further details):

• Everyone must be tested at the first available opportunity.
• After an athlete's 5th session on the water, they must pass a swim test before conducting further water outings.
• Upon failure of a swim test, that athlete is prohibited from water outings until they subsequently pass a swim test.
• Swim tests remain valid for six years.

Any breach of these rules will be treated as a Major Transgression, which will result in a CSR, and it is the responsibility of the clubs to check the pass/fail lists published by the RowSab after each swim test session. If you have any queries about the above rules, contact the Rowing Sabbatical Officer at ourcs.sabbatical@sport.ox.ac.uk. 

Swim Test Booking Procedure

A brief guide intended for those taking a swim test is avaiable here.

Tests are bookable via Supersaas -- your club will have an account. The time of a booking is the time your athletes should arrive, not the test start time. Please tell your athletes to arrive on time for their tests, NOT 15 minutes early.

Location

Swim tests take place in the Rosenblatt Pool at the University's Iffley Road Sports Centre.

BOOKING

SAFETY

These tests are a really important part of Oxford rowing safety. Last term there was a 21% fail rate -- meaning if we didn't do them, there would be at least one person in every eight who could not swim in the event of an emergency. This would be bad. 

Remember that rowers may only complete up to 5 outings before taking a swim test. COUR recommends having rowers complete a competency declaration form before any outings. A template is attached to this email. Anyone who fails a swim test, even if they have not completed 5 outings, cannot row until they subsequently pass. 

People on your club will fail the swim test -- this is why we run them throughout the term to provide for retakes. Please ensure your athletes know that this is not a simple back float and they need to be able to do the three things they've probably already signed onto doing on the COUR form -- 50m continuous swim, 2 minutes treading water, and 5m underwater swimming. 

Pricing

Swim tests are charged directly to the boat club. The price is determined by the cost of pool hire multiplied by the proportion of the total tests in a given period, generally a term, which were taken by the club. I.e. if pool hire is £1000 and 500 tests are taken, the unit cost will be £2. If St Digworth's College BC take 50 tests, they will be charged £100 (1000 * 50 / 500). For missed tests, there is a 50% surcharge (i.e. a £2 test becomes a £3 test if you book a slot and no one attends). 

The Test

You will need to bring with you

• a valid Bodcard if a current student (any photo-ID if not a current student);
• shorts or leggings, and a t-shirt with sleeves (must be loose fitting, no vests or sleeveless tops) to wear during the test;
• a towel, dry change of clothes and bag for the wet clothes after the test.

You may wear a swimming costume underneath the clothing. White clothes tend to go semi-transparent when wet.
You may not wear goggles of any kind for the test.

You must sign in at the OURCs desk opposite the main reception for the result of your test to be recorded.

At present the test consists of

• (wearing a t-shirt, and shorts or leggings as a minimum);
• swimming 50m (any stroke excluding backstroke);
• treading water for 2 minutes: when treading water you are expected to have your full head above the water and have your airways open; and
• a surface dive and swim for 5m fully submerged under water.

All testing is carried out by qualified personnel.

Failing a Swim Test

• If a rower/cox fails, then from that moment onwards they are not permitted to be on the water. This means that any further usage of their 5-session allowance before being tested is not permitted. They are NOT permitted to be on the water even with lifejackets or buoyancy aids.
• Someone will fail if they fail to complete any part of the test above to the satisfaction of the tester. The most common reasons for failing are: failing the underwater dive by failing to fully submerge, and swimming backstroke and/or taking a rest on their back during the 50m swim.
• Treading water: people tend to keep far too little of their head above water to be confident of them doing so on a river; fatigue is a common factor and people may wish to regain some fitness prior to the test.
• Underwater swim: please remember that a surface dive does not allow for pushing off a wall and is conducted in the middle of the pool. Many fail to submerge themselves properly before beginning the 5m swim.