We pride ourselves on customer service and try to provide the best for our clients at all times before, during and after their sessions.  Below is just a sample of the feedback we have received so far, all of our clients have rated our service very highly.

To leave your own feedback please fill out our feedback form here

Bye Bye Nerves, Hello new passion!
I started with a 121 lesson with Jason Last Summer and although I was a very good pool swimmer something about Openwater and me just did not work my head did not like the idea at all.

Jason started off slowly and we got further and further from land before I knew it we were out at the 200m mark on lake 32 and until I looked back I had no issues then it all hit me and some panic ran through my body, Jason kept me talking and the panic passed that night we swam the lake course for the first time.

I have also done group sessions with Jason to build up endurance and mix up my training. These were good as they made me do things and strokes I would not normally do in my routines.

Since then I have completed a Full Ironman and 2 Half’s. Eton 5km swim and lots Sprints and shorter swims. I now spend most of my early morning at the lake swimming all year round and love it.

If you’re a nervous or experienced swimmer I could not recommend a better person or Coach to have beside you in the water. I for one would have been on a very long slow journey to get where I am now without Jason and South West Swim.

Thanks for your help Jason and see you through the Winter. Brrrrrr

John Bewley

John Bewley

 Tailored and Individual approach

“As a complete novice at open water swimming, and an ageing guy just getting into triathlons Jason quickly understood my needs, as well as my limits. He tailored the course to suit me and listened to what I was looking for before the session and adapted accordingly.”

Stephen Clark

19min improvement on Ironman swim

3 years ago I couldn’t swim crawl this year I completed my first ironman. This was with a massive amount of help from Jason. I taught myself how to crawl and as with most things self taught I developed a number of bad habits…..my expected ironman swim time was around 1:40 ish…I had 3 lessons with Jason, one a video analysis, and my actual time was 1:21. His skills at identifying issues, giving you simple drills to practice and the basic reinforcement when you swim with him made something I was truly daunted by a very achievable task. So much so I’m going to do another next year and hope to knock off even more time.

Gary Donnelly

Ironman at 60, lucky to have someone like Jason on our door step.

I don’t get to swim regularly at Lake 32 but hope that might change in the future. In recent months I’ve been training for Ironman UK and when I needed to focus on my swim technique it was Jason Tait who was recommended to me. I only managed one session with him but what a session. In minutes he had diagnosed my weaknesses in a really supportive manner and given me just a couple of key things to work on. I stuck with them in swim practice and had them in my head throughout the event itself. Success! Ironman at 60. Just wanted to say how lucky we are to have someone of Jason’s calibre on our doorstep. And it’s worth pointing out that he’s not paying me to say this, not even a piece of cake. Thanks Jason.

Peter Rowland

An hour very well spent

My coaching session with Jason Tait was an hour very well spent. I decided to have a coaching session after spending several months swimming at Lake 32 and seeing Jason always busy coaching all abilities of swimmer. I had spoken to a number of swimmers who spoke highly of his coaching style and ability. Swimming is as much about technique as it is about fitness and simply ‘You Tubing’ videos on style and technique is insufficient to improve greatly – you need to understand what you are doing well, and what not so well, before you can make real progress. Jason was able to do this, firstly by observing me from land and then from in/under the water. We worked on the identified areas and Jason summarised at the end the points I need to work on. The email feedback also provided is very handy for future reference. I will be booking a follow-up session to assess my technique again and perhaps pick up further points to build on as well.

Mark Lazell

Happy Thursday Squad – 50m breathless to 2.6km unstoppable

“Well 3 months ago I met Jason at lake 32 he had told me it would be cold and we probably would not swim for long. Well we stayed in for about 25 minutes. But in that time Jason learnt a lot about how poor my swimming was. In fact I could only swim to the first bouy. After this I stared going to Jasons swimming pool lessons. I have had ten pool lessons, now I can swim over 2600 meters in one swimming session. I could not of done this without the brilliant help and support of Jason . He has totally transformed the way I swim. I know I still have a long way to go. But I now know I can do it.

Thanks again to Jason and southwestswim.co.uk.”

Stephen Neale

 Miracle worker

“I have to say Jason is a miracle worker. Loved tonight’s open water session & really happy with progress

Daniel Stallard, via Twitter

Simply Brilliant

I booked my first session with Jason 11 weeks before my first ever Ironman. At the time I was a confident but not proficient swimmer who got tired after 20 lengths in the pool. Over 5 one hour sessions Jason taught me how to swim in open water, corrected my breathing, sighting and leg positions to such an extent that I completed the 3.8km Ironman Wales swim in the top half of the field.

A few weeks before I was daunted at the thought of swimming 750m

Having Jason in the water next to me for the 1-2-1 sessions was fantastic however when complemented with some coaching using headphones from the jetty was technique improved considerably. Jason also introduced great aids and exercise to bring me on quickly.

Simply brilliant

Richard Groome

 Flexible timings

“I liked that the sessions could be fitted in around our times. I liked the small groups so your get more out of the session. Nice to swim in our local lake. Smooth delivery from Coach.”

Anon, via feedback form

 Professional and approachable

“I totally recommend South West Swim’s beginner’s session. It enabled me to get over my fear of swimming front crawl in deep open water. The session was so well put together, having people in the group of similar ability was very reassuring. The session covered so many aspects of swimming in open water that I had no knowledge of, so it was very informative but it was also good fun and pushed me beyond my comfort zone, which is great.
From start to finish everything was extremely professional and left with the feeling that should I have any questions in the future I could go back and ask Jason.
Thanks Jason”

Doug Imrie

Group Sessions

The group sessions provided a great mix of teaching technical swimming and open water skills, practising different elements of the skills in the water, and also getting some swimming distance in. The variety each week helped to keep the sessions interesting, and doing them in a group was great fun and sociable. We had a lot of laughs!!

I really appreciated the flexibility shown in each session – adapting it to what the swimmers wanted to achieve / practice, and taking into account what events were coming up / had just been done. It felt more like a personalised / tailored approach rather than a “one size fits all” approach.

Thanks for all the help and support over the past couple of months – it’s been ace!!

Nicola Wood

New PB thanks to new skills

“Just sending huge thanks. I raced a tri at the weekend, olympic distance, achieved a pb in the swim!! Was pool rather than ow but I still applied my newly found knowledge and swam hopefully better than before. Chin chin and cant wait for next lesson. Thanks JT”

Herbie Welford, via Facebook

Squad Sessions

Before I started the course, I could maybe do 32 lengths; never did I think about swimming up to 2 hours in a pool, and full laps of the lake at the beginning of the season. My speed has improved, the skill and awareness of how I execute the strokes have improved, I feel happy to go into a pool with my kit pieces and do the sets. In the lake I can bilateral breath now, and keep going for longer and feel stronger in my swim. Thank you, Coach Jason for encouraging, pushing and supporting in all the right places.

Jo Pendlebury

Challenging Squad sessions for all levels

The swimming sessions are challenging and fun with lots of variety. Often I feel like I’m swimming with more awareness at the end of the session. My confidence in open water has improved enormously and I know my technique has improved – even if there’s still a long way to go. At the start of July, Jason suggested I might do the 1m Cotswold Big Swim in September, and I didn’t think it would be possible – but I did it and enjoyed it. Thank You!

Christine Hardesty

The whole experience from booking to the session itself was faultless. They are very keen swimmers and seem to want to pass on their love for swimming to others, and I would say they achieve this very successfully. Big thanks to Jason for his unlimited patience and understanding.

Alex Jones

Ability to assess my technique within a few minutes

Jason is reliable, punctual, has good insights and experience to recognise core faults and strengths. I was suprised that Jason was able to assess my technique within a few minutes, and the follow-on drills have been positive improvements to my core training. Very impressed.

Nick Daly

2015 was my first venture in to open water swimming and it all started with a one to one session with southwest swim. I learnt the basics of swimming in a wetsuit, sighting and getting use to cold water! I also took part in group sessions which were great for giving me the confidence to enter events. Have had a fantastic first season, much of which is down to southwest swim! Looking forward to swimming more and further next year!

Justin Tait

If you’re sat at home thinking about doing open water swimming go for it I did and love open water swimming and it’s all because of Jason from South West Swim giving me the confidence and I have made lots of new friends along the way.

Lyn Telling

South West Swim. A great resource for all your needs, whatever your level. Jason helped me achieve a high place in the Dart 10Km river swim and achieve a 1 hour Ironman swim. I have also seen him help novice open water swimmers and swimmers of all levels achieve their goals.

Jon Francis

Introduction to Open water

“Having made the decision to take on a challenge for an open water swimming event this summer I can’t believe my luck that I found South West Swim and their Open Water Coaching Services. Jason is obviously well qualified for this and his professional patience has just that hint of pushiness that a good coach needs! Structured pre and post swim briefing is excellent with hints and tips galore and “in water” observations are backed up later with written comments, goals and encouragement.”

Des Rocks

 Confidence Boost

“Had a fantastic introduction session into open water swimming with Jason! Gave me confidence to carry on with more open water swimming! Taken all my worries away and looking forward to open water swimming more in the future! Thank you Jason”

Shane Ball

Introduction to Open Water Swimming

The introduction to open water swimming with Jason was excellent. Jason’s calm and knowledgeable teaching was very reassuring and the session covered everything I needed. It gave me real confidence to swim in a variety of deep water settings. Also from initial contact to the actual swimming session, everything was really well organised. I would highly recommend this session to anyone considering open water swimming.

Kate Lindsell

Nervous…….not anymore!

Jason Tait is a fantastic coach and person. He has taken me from a nervous open water swimmer to someone who now feels comfortable on open water. I had not swum for almost 45 years and had never been a long distance front crawl person but in a month in he me swimming 2.5K in a pool and in three months had me swimming 2K at Lake 32 and other lakes quite easily. I would recommend SouthWest Swim to anyone, In fact my husband has been so impressed with Jason he now wants to learn to swim in open water and he is not a swimmer – so that is great endorsement from a Scotsman!!!

Pamela Gellatly

A new passion for open water swimming

My friend Julie & I had a session with South West Swim as an introduction to open water swimming prior to our first Triathlon. Whilst apprehensive initially we were soon made to feel at ease and by the end of the session were feeling comfortable swimming in the lake and better prepared for the Triathlon with all we had learnt. We have loved subsequent visits to Lake 32 over the summer and will be paying membership next year. The session we had gave us the confidence needed to swim in open water and its given us the ‘bug’. Thank you very much.

Abi Botting

Great intro to open water swimming

In the space of a couple of hours in a Saturday morning I have gone from a very reluctant o/w swimmer to someone who really enjoys the freedom of open water and the fact that there is space for swimmers of all paces and no lane rage!

Kirsty Newland

Bahrain Surprise, thanks

“I managed to complete Challenge Bahrain (70.3) in December and my swim time surprised me (and others!!!). I did the 1.9k in 34 mins, second in my age group. That was my first open water tri and I remembered all the things you taught me, sighting, going around the buoys, kicking legs for the last 100m, opening the top of my wetsuit just before exiting……All worked and made it really enjoyable. So thank you so much.”

Stephen Clark, Via Email

 Swimtrek, no problem

Thank you so much for the brilliant one to one session I had with you earlier this year. If you recall I had booked on a SwimTrek holiday in late September and needed some pointers to improve my style.
Thanks to you, I not only had a great holiday but despite being by far the oldest by at least 20 years, I was NOT the slowest. So, so chuffed.
Sue Blow, Via Email

 1-2-1 Sessions

“I think I was lucky having a 1-2-1 session on my first visits as clearly I had absolutely no confidence being a total beginner and relatively weak swimmer; however, right from the very start Jason was instinctively aware of my concerns and seemed to pre-empt every question I had.”

Des Rocks

 10KM Charity Swim Prep

“Big Thanks  for sponsoring me with some great  preparing me for my 10k charity event. .”

Paul Shipway, via Twitter

 First Timers

“We met Jason at the Icebreaker event earlier this year and got back in contact for coaching sessions. I found them to be very helpful in my training for a triathlon. Jason was a relaxed and knowledgeable coach and I’d definitely recommend Southwestswim to others. Thank you”

Anon, via feedback form

Tailored introduction session caters for all ages

Our introductory session was perfectly pitched to our needs. My son and I both left the lake feeling enthused and confident about the specific skills we need to get going in open water swimming.   We’re now looking forward to our open water challenges!

Fiona Beckett

 Fear of swimming……..no more!

“I totally recommend South West Swim’s beginner’s session. It enabled me to get over my fear of swimming front crawl in deep open water. The session was so well put together, having people in the group of similar ability was very reassuring. The session covered so many aspects of swimming in open water that I had no knowledge of, so it was very informative but it was also good fun and pushed me beyond my comfort zone, which is great.  Thanks Jason.”

Rachel Donaldson