A Little More Christmas Fun (And Paul's Interview With Bob Babbitt)

When Paul was over in California recently he was invited to be interviewed by Bob Babbitt on his famous Ironman themed podcast Babbittville Radio.

It's a fascinating interview covering all things swimming, Paul's background in triathlon (including how he was Simon Lessing's "swim bitch" in the build up to the Sydney Olympics) and how he got started in coaching. Don't miss it!

You can listen to the podcast here: http://babbittville.com/paul-newsome/

And on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/babbittville-radio-babbittville/id909386187

Paul (R), Bob and Swim Smooth's Adam Young (L) at the amazing Challenged Athletes Foundation :

A Little More Christmas Fun

Also, wondering what to do with your final group or squad session of the year?

Most of the squads run by our Swim Smooth Coaches like to have a little fun before Christmas... Here's four relay swim ideas for a fun end-of-term session. Shot on the fly by our Doncaster/Tadcaster based coach Morgan Williams:


The Balloon Relay

The first swimmer starts with a deflated balloon and can only set off once the balloon is inflated to head size! If the balloon deflates below head size it must be re-inflated and must be held in one hand:

 The Shooting Gallery Relay

At the end of the lap, dive down, grab two darts from the bottom of the pool and try and throw them in the bucket at the end of the pool. Miss once and swim back single arm. Miss twice and swim back kicking-only! :

The Classic T-Shirt Relay

You might have swum with a T-shirt on before but how about having to swap it between team members during the swim? :

The Visually Impaired Relay

Ever wondered what it's like to be a visually impaired athlete swimming with a guide? Try swimming with a blacked out pair of goggles and a teammate responsible for your safety to guide you:

Merry Christmas from all of us here at Swim Smooth (and the Tadcaster crew)! Enjoy the break and come back raring to go in 2018...

Swim Smooth!