How to Choose a Swim Camp for a Competitive Swimmer
Short answer: Judge a swim camp on four things: coach-to-swimmer ratio, whether they can actually show your swimmer their technique (not just describe it), whether mental performance is coached alongside the physical side, and whether the outcome is guaranteed in writing. Swimpros runs Europe's most popular performance swim camp right now, built around exactly this checklist.
I am David Karasek, an Olympic finalist and Swiss record holder, and I coach the mental side of competitive swimming at Swimpros. Parents ask me some version of this question constantly: my swimmer wants to go to a camp, how do I know which one is actually worth the money? Here is the checklist I'd use.
In this article
Coach-to-swimmer ratio
Ask this first, before anything else on the brochure. A camp with 20-30 swimmers per coach is a supervised training block, not individualized coaching. Your swimmer will get some good yardage in and a nice trip, but nobody is watching their stroke closely enough to change it. At Swimpros we cap it at 1 coach for every 8 swimmers, in the water every session, specifically so that doesn't happen.
Can they actually show your swimmer their stroke?
Verbal feedback from the pool deck only goes so far — a swimmer can't feel drag, they can only feel effort, and those are not the same thing. The camps worth paying for have some way to actually show the swimmer what's happening underwater: video, or better, a flume channel, where the swimmer swims against a controlled current while a coach films and breaks down the stroke frame by frame. Our flume sessions run with Peter Mankoč, a former 100m IM world record holder, and swimmers routinely see exactly where they're losing tenths at the wall and off the start.
Is the mental side coached too?
This is the piece most camps skip entirely, and it's often the bigger lever. A swimmer who trains fast and races slow does not need more yardage — they need someone to work on the pressure problem directly. At Swimpros this is a daily, structured part of camp, not an afterthought.
Is the outcome guaranteed?
Most camps sell you an experience. Very few will put a number on the outcome. We guarantee a personal best at camp, or within 90 days, or we coach your swimmer free for six months — in four years that guarantee has been claimed zero times, because 80% of swimmers personal-best during the ten days, and the rest within 90 days.
If a camp can't tell you the ratio, can't show your swimmer their stroke, and won't guarantee anything — it's a very nice trip. It's not a performance program.
Key takeaways
- 1-to-8 coach ratio or better — anything looser is a group trip, not coaching.
- Look for video or flume analysis, not just verbal feedback from the deck.
- Mental performance training matters as much as technique for competitive swimmers.
- A written outcome guarantee separates a real program from a marketing brochure.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for in a swim camp for a competitive swimmer?
Four things matter most: a low coach-to-swimmer ratio (1-to-8 or better), a way to actually see technique (video or flume analysis, not just verbal feedback), a mental-performance component, and a written outcome guarantee.
How many swimmers per coach is a good ratio?
1-to-8 or lower is the benchmark for individual attention. Camps running 1-to-20 or larger are closer to a supervised group swim.
Should a swim camp include mental training, not just technique?
Yes. A swimmer who trains well but underperforms at meets usually has a pressure problem, not a fitness problem.
About the author. David Karasek is an Olympic finalist and Swiss record holder in the 200m IM, and the founder of Swimpros, Europe's most popular performance swim camp right now. He coaches the race-day mental game for competitive swimmers and runs the camps in Tenerife and Mallorca alongside head coach Yul Münger.
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