As a member of the Big Shoulders field who understood why they cancelled, I've been thinking about this one, too. Annually, I swim an event here in Cincinnati that is across the river and back. This year, it was to be scheduled for this coming Sunday. I first swam the event in 2008, and for the second time (the first was in 2008), this event has been postponed. In 2008, the problem was water quality (big rain storms tend to wash out the sewer systems of large cities), and the event was postponed by two months with the decision being made the day before the event. This year, the problem is blue algae, and the event has been postponed by two weeks, as organizers believe that will be sufficient time for the problem to clear up.
There are some similarities between this event and Big Shoulders and some significant differences.
Similarities:
-- Permit from city to hold event (in this case the river must be closed to shipping for a couple of hours)
-- Scheduling of outside resources (in this case guards in kayaks and a Coast Guard boat)
-- Unpredictable conditions (in this case after rain postponed the event originally scheduled in June, organizers realized late September would always be a better bet as drier conditions typically prevail)
-- Event sanctioning (in this case the USA Triathlon)
Differences
-- Field of 100-200 as opposed to 800+
-- No USMS national championship at stake -- and most of field really recreational swimmers
-- 3rd Party company used to organize buoys, chips, timing, etc.
-- Primary organizer very well politically connected to local officials so he can make the date change with a couple of phone calls
-- Smaller, more flexible city
-- Less out of town participants (though that is changing)
So, to give my opinion on questions I've seen on this thread, I can easily see why contingency planning for a postponement or venue change would be enormously difficult for an event like the Big Shoulders. However, I do think there is some learning that event organizers may want to begin to develop as our sport gains popularity and the number of events continues to grow.
As a member of the Big Shoulders field who understood why they cancelled, I've been thinking about this one, too. Annually, I swim an event here in Cincinnati that is across the river and back. This year, it was to be scheduled for this coming Sunday. I first swam the event in 2008, and for the second time (the first was in 2008), this event has been postponed. In 2008, the problem was water quality (big rain storms tend to wash out the sewer systems of large cities), and the event was postponed by two months with the decision being made the day before the event. This year, the problem is blue algae, and the event has been postponed by two weeks, as organizers believe that will be sufficient time for the problem to clear up.
There are some similarities between this event and Big Shoulders and some significant differences.
Similarities:
-- Permit from city to hold event (in this case the river must be closed to shipping for a couple of hours)
-- Scheduling of outside resources (in this case guards in kayaks and a Coast Guard boat)
-- Unpredictable conditions (in this case after rain postponed the event originally scheduled in June, organizers realized late September would always be a better bet as drier conditions typically prevail)
-- Event sanctioning (in this case the USA Triathlon)
Differences
-- Field of 100-200 as opposed to 800+
-- No USMS national championship at stake -- and most of field really recreational swimmers
-- 3rd Party company used to organize buoys, chips, timing, etc.
-- Primary organizer very well politically connected to local officials so he can make the date change with a couple of phone calls
-- Smaller, more flexible city
-- Less out of town participants (though that is changing)
So, to give my opinion on questions I've seen on this thread, I can easily see why contingency planning for a postponement or venue change would be enormously difficult for an event like the Big Shoulders. However, I do think there is some learning that event organizers may want to begin to develop as our sport gains popularity and the number of events continues to grow.
