In the Long Beach Marriott Hotel and Conference Center near the Long Beach Airport in California on Saturday, June 5th, there will be a unique conference and networking opportunity for open water swimmers, triathletes, coaches, officials, administrators, trainers, physicians and fans: the 2010 Global Open Water Swimming Conference (www.pacificopenwater.com).
The 2010 Global Open Water Swimming Conference will attract some of the most experienced and passionate leaders in/of the worlds of open water swimming and triathlon.
Overview
A global gathering of open water swimming and triathlon athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, race directors, fans and enthusiasts. The Conference assembles some of the world's most experienced and successful open water and triathlon athletes, coaches, physicians, commentators, administrators and scientists.
24 presentations will cover every aspect of the vast and expanding world of open water swimming. The Conference is an opportunity for people to network, share information and learn the latest training, tactics and techniques for open water swimming as a solo swimmer, competitive swimmer, triathlete or masters swimmers.
Schedule
The Conference will kick-off with two very special speeches:
The Art of Open Water Swimming by 7-time world professional marathon swimming champion Shelley Taylor-Smith of Australia
The Magic of Open Water Swimming by extreme adventure swimmer Ram Barkai of South Africa
The Conference is divided into four tracks and will go from 11 am - 8 pm with dinner served. Participants can attend any presentation, award ceremony and panel discussion.
Training
Business
Racing
Lifestyle
The Training Sessions include the following presentations and speakers:
Fitness, Recovery and Sharpening by Matt Dixon
Preparing Pool Swimmers and Triathletes for the Open Water by Gerry Rodrigues
Developing World-class Athletes via Pool Open Water Training by Gerry Rodrigues
The Champion's Mindset by Shelley Taylor-Smith
Navy SEALs Training by Captain Adam Smith
Paulsitive Training for Busy People by Paul Hekimian
The Business Sessions include the following presentations and speakers:
Creating a Great Swim by Colin Hill
Staging a Tropical Open Water Gala by Frank Flowers and Bill McFarland
Television and Media Partnerships in Open Water Swimming by Pedro Rego Monteiro
Wetsuits and the Web, Catalysts for Triathlon Growth by Dan Empfield
Officiating and Announcing Open Water Races by Sid Cassidy
The Rules of Open Water Swimming by Sid Cassidy
The Racing Sessions include the following presentations and speakers:
Racing to the T1 Transition by John Flanagan
Competing in History's Greatest Pro Swims by Greta Andersen
Hypothermia and Hyperthermia by Jim Miller, M.D.
2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships by Pierre Lafontaine
Nutritional Needs of Triathletes and Open Water Swimmers by Jim Miller, M.D.
The Olympic 10K Marathon Swim Courses in London and Rio by Steven Munatones
The Lifestyle Sessions include the following presentations and speakers:
Swimming to Distant Shores by Forrest Nelson
Doing the Extraordinary by Ram Barkai
Women in Open Water Swimming by Anne Cleveland
Life of a Professional Marathon Swimmer by Sid Cassidy
The History of Open Water Swimming from 1810 – 2010 by Steven Munatones
Planning and Preparing for Channel Swims by John York
In addition, based on a global poll of over 35,000 open water swimmers, the 2009 World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year (Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria), the 2009 World Open Water Swimming Women of the Year (Poliana Okimoto of Brazil) and the 2009 World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year (Andrew Smilley of Cayman Islands) will be announced and recognized.
These awards will be followed by a special announcement of four Lifetime Achievement Award winners and an Italian dinner in the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.
Confirmed attendees to date include individuals from Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Canada, Cayman Islands, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago and throughout the United States.
The list of speakers and VIP guests are posted at www.pacificopenwater.com.
Location
The Long Beach Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, just north of the 405 Freeway across from the Long Beach Airport in Long Beach, California, approximately 30 minutes south of the LAX International Airport and 20 minutes north of the John Wayne International Airport.
The hotel is located less than 10 minutes away from the site of the 2010 USA Swimming National 5K and 10K Open Water Swimming Championships and the new 2K and 4K Open Water Pursuit races that will be held on June 4th and June 6th.
Footnotes
1. In the Open Water Pursuit races, you can swim solo or on a Trio Team (with 3 swimmers) or on a Quad Squad (with 4 swimmers) in a flat-water loop course. Partner with your friends and race other teams as you draft, position and pace together with your teammates. It will be an aquatic peloton where the lead swimmers will pull their teammates until another swimmer takes over.
The onshore start will be unique - a randomly selected staggered start where each team will be set off in 15-second intervals. This will allow your team to truly draft, position, navigate and pace together to see how you stake up against others.
The finish will be onshore and the final time will be the time that all the swimmers finish together. It is not the cumulative time of the athletes; it is a race that awards swimmers who can draft, position and pace well together.
2. You can watch the USA Swimming National 10K Open Water Swimming Championship on Friday, June 4th and watch the USA Swimming National 5K Open Water Swimming Championships on Sunday, June 6th (held before the Open Water Pursuit races).
At the USA Swimming National 5K and 10K Open Water Swimming Championship races, which are world championship qualification events, you can board Spectator Boats and watch some of the world's best open water swimmers battle it out up close.
You do not have to stand on shore and wait. You do not have to wonder what is going on as you gaze and see only splashes and packs of swimmers in the distance, even with binoculars.
You can now see how Olympian Chloe Sutton races against NCAA champion Emily Brunemann. You can see how top FINA World Cup swimmer Eva Fabian strategizes against FINA World Cup winner Kristen Groome, Micha Burden, Emily Hansen and other top American women.
You will be able to see their final kick and intermediate surges and observe their tactics from boats that will pace along the course in view of the lead packs. You will see a tremendous battle between Pan American Games gold medalist Fran Crippen, world 10K championship silver medalist Andrew Gemmell, 2005 world 10K champion Chip Peterson, Sean Ryan and other top 1500-meter swimmers across America. Canada will also send its best swimmers to compete in these championship races.
From your no-wake, no-exhaust gondolas, you will be able to see how yellow flag (warning) are given or why red cards (disqualifications) are issued (if any). You will be able to take photographs and enjoy a furious sprint to the finish and huge scrums around the turn buoys on the Spectator Boats.
So in addition to the unique educational and networking opportunity at the 2010 Global Open Water Swimming Conference on June 5th, you can participate in a unique Open Water Pursuit race and enjoy watching America's best swimmers race in the open water up close.
For more information, go to www.pacificopenwater.com or join the Pacific Open Water group on Facebook.
