OK I am lying, I have it right here! I just though it would be nice to start this thread off early so we can all get a jump on the 2009 griping and complaining!
:chug:
Parents
Former Member
Got my mag, thank you, and read the Selby letter. He raises a legitimate issue. I've done dozens of open water swims in the past 20 years and some of them are poorly run. It's just not smart to to have a few hundred swimmers hitting 10-foot faces in Southern California or sub 55-degree water in the Bay Area, especially without an adequate rescue presence. Personally, I like rough conditions, cold water and don't want to wear a wetsuit. But if it's much under 60 degrees, I know I'll start to slide into hypothermia, so I stay out. Too many swimmers seem to believe that it's a matter of toughness. It's not. Wetsuits should either be mandatory below a certain temperature - I vote for 60 - or there needs to be a lot of rescuers monitoring the race with the authority to pull out those who get in trouble whether they like it or not.
Got my mag, thank you, and read the Selby letter. He raises a legitimate issue. I've done dozens of open water swims in the past 20 years and some of them are poorly run. It's just not smart to to have a few hundred swimmers hitting 10-foot faces in Southern California or sub 55-degree water in the Bay Area, especially without an adequate rescue presence. Personally, I like rough conditions, cold water and don't want to wear a wetsuit. But if it's much under 60 degrees, I know I'll start to slide into hypothermia, so I stay out. Too many swimmers seem to believe that it's a matter of toughness. It's not. Wetsuits should either be mandatory below a certain temperature - I vote for 60 - or there needs to be a lot of rescuers monitoring the race with the authority to pull out those who get in trouble whether they like it or not.
