About Us
The Open Water Swim Academy (OWSA) shares and promotes the camaraderie, fun, exhilaration and joy of open water swimming. Led by Dan Simonelli, an experienced and awarded marathon swimmer, OWSA provides comprehensive coaching and mentoring to swimmers, both competitive and non-competitive, of all ages and skill levels interested in the challenge of open water swimming.
Our Coach
Dan Simonelli
Dan Simonelli is an award winning Coach and an Inductee, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Honor Coach.
He has coached open water swimmers of all levels and experience from novice to long distance to attempt and complete swims such as the English Channel, Catalina Channel, Kaiwi (Molokai) Channel, the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, S.C.A.R, and other U.S. and international swims.
Dan was awarded the Streeter Award (2015) for Service to Marathon Swimming and the 2016 Barra Award for Best Overall Year (2016) by the International Marathon Swimmers Federation.
He was recognized on the World Open Water Swimming Association’s list of the World’s 50 Most Adventurous Open Water Men.
He is also a recipient of the Carnegie Hero Award for saving the life of a swimmer during a big wave day at La Jolla Cove in January 2019.
His passion for swimming began as a competitive age group swimmer growing up in Stockton, CA. Later he swam for Palomar College in San Diego and competed in Triathlon.
Dan served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and during his duty he held a supplementary position as a Water Safety and Survival Instructor.
He also gained extensive experience as an Ocean Lifeguard‐EMT and Ocean Lifeguard Instructor.
Years later he came back to ocean swimming and has continued swimming and coaching ever since...
Swim with us!
For more information on joining Open Water Swim Academy, training schedules, support and pricing, please don’t hesitate to say hi.
Phone
(888) 806-4768
Address
PO Box 16501 San Diego CA 92176