My first open water swim competition was done with pool training, but I did have at least the advantage of having had most of my early swimming lessons in a bay rather than a pool (some swimming lessons there but my main memories are of salt water and so had already long overcome any squeamishness about jellyfish, seaweed, etc.--just part of the environment!).
Often, I'm surprised at the number of people in my area who haven't learned to swim or who have only very minimal swimming skills. But I realize I also had a fortunate upbringing. Because we went to the beach every summer, my parents saw swimming as a survival skill and enrolled us all in lessons.
Yet I have overheard conversations between adults taking lessons for the first time and being afraid to put their face in the water. I applaud them for taking the step of learning to swim, just that it is surprising how much that wasn't part of so many people's early experience. A friend tells me he started swimming lessons as a kid in some township recreation program, but that budgets got cut and his swimming lessons ended.
Seems to me swimming should be a part of the standard PE curriculum as kids grow up--or at least be budgeted into summer recreation programs. It's not only at triathlons that people run into problems. Often drownings occur in boating or when un/undertrained swimmers venture into unprotected waters. Maybe even some sessions in open water....
But maybe that's a pipe dream....
A recent post underscoring why OW, not just pool, experience should be part of the qualification process: U.S. Masters Swimming Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Anyone had this experience?
It will grow both our sports, lower insurance premiums and make triathlons safer.
This is a tough one for me to evaluate. I'm not sure I want USMS meets, especially those between Jan and March to basically become overrun with USAT members try to make a probably ridiculously slow time cut. Maybe make the events on Friday or Monday so the rest of us won't have to suffer with 300 tris trying to get a 10 minute standard in the 500.
I'm also not sure the goal of USMS is to make USAT triathlons safer.
There is probably some tie-in to be had between the two organizations but not at the expense of turning USMS into some USAT qualifying program. 95% of tris just try to survive the swim, which is vastly different from the point of a swim meet.
This would, of course, increase participation in USMS meets, which would be a good thing.
If a lot of people want to swim the same distance, a USMS chapter could sponsor a "meet" for that distance only and use it as a fundraiser.
If USMS didn't want any part of this, I'm sure another organization would step up. There are a lot of people willing to help triathletes part with their cash. It's just that USMS chapters have the infrastructure to do it fairly simply.
Thats' the spirit Notsofast!
And frankly, I have seen many triathletes drop in to masters workouts to get a little swim training in before their first - or a big triathlon only to become USMS lifers.
I still say this is a great concept that serves the athletes and grows the sport. It needs development.
Maybe it starts small with a few races willing to plan it a year in advance for next triathlon season.
There is no doubt in my mind it would be a good investment of time for USMS and masters head coaches.
This would, of course, increase participation in USMS meets, which would be a good thing.
I agree, more participation might be a good thing. But, more participants doesn't necessarily mean a great benefit. I think some smart people could figure this out without swamping us with open-turning, tri suit wearing, paddle pushing tris. At least we know the IM and stroke events would see not increased participation!
I'm not sure I want USMS meets, especially those between Jan and March to basically become overrun with USAT members try to make a probably ridiculously slow time cut.
If a lot of people want to swim the same distance, a USMS chapter could sponsor a "meet" for that distance only and use it as a fundraiser.
This is what I have inferred already - that distance meets are the answer. As I mention earlier, our SCY Zone meet was 60% triathletes in the 1000/1650. They all signed up in as soon as the event info went public, so anyone who waited got shut out (there was a cutoff).
The only problem is getting LMSCs - and particular teams - to step up to host those events. My team had traditionally held a 1000/1650 SCY distance meet and a 800/1500 LC distance meet annually, but few people want to work on these, and the LC meet is now ancient history. We've able to get pools on the cheap, so finances aren't an issue for us, but for most other places, this is probably the #1 inhibiting factor.
This is a tough one for me to evaluate. I'm not sure I want USMS meets, especially those between Jan and March to basically become overrun with USAT members try to make a probably ridiculously slow time cut. Maybe make the events on Friday or Monday so the rest of us won't have to suffer with 300 tris trying to get a 10 minute standard in the 500.
This would, of course, increase participation in USMS meets, which would be a good thing.
If a lot of people want to swim the same distance, a USMS chapter could sponsor a "meet" for that distance only and use it as a fundraiser.
If USMS didn't want any part of this, I'm sure another organization would step up. There are a lot of people willing to help triathletes part with their cash. It's just that USMS chapters have the infrastructure to do it fairly simply.
A tip for masters coaches - have a water polo game during practice and make sure the triathletes participate. This gets people used to "contact swimming," spotting, swimming with the head up, and going around people. Once you get elbowed and dunked a few times playing water polo, it is not as traumatic when the same thing happens on an open water swim.
It is a good idea, but just be aware that water polo is a specifically excluded activity when it comes to USMS insurance coverage.
We call it a "drill," not water polo. :) Also, the way we play, I don't think anybody could call it water polo within the normal understanding of what water polo is. :)
Interesting that the policy does not define what water polo is. It would be pretty easy to get around the exclusion by making the game "keep away" and making it part of "swimming practice." Calling whatever one is doing a drill for open water swimming and not scoring goals would seem to eliminate the problem.
Speaking of exclusions, noticed "underwater sports activities" are also excluded. So, what does that exclude? Are underwater 25s therefore excluded from coverage?" I'm not seeing a definition of underwater sports activities. Kind of seems ambiguous. Seems like that exclusion would get thrown out in favor of coverage.
It's better to die by athleticism than die on the couch. Kicking the bucket during the swim at a triathlon is probably a drop in the bucket though. I imagine that bike and run 'training' takes far more lives but won't get the press because these deaths aren't happening at the events. People get hit all the time. Two people in my town got hit by an errant motorist just last week - both remain (fortunately) in intenstive care.
But to stay on topic with the OP, it's not just rookie swimmers that get themselves into trouble. It's not even limited to folks that have known or identifiable conditions. I've been gearing up to do more tris and have been following some of these stories. I had never, ever, ever, ever felt nervous about being in the water until I read this:
www.slowtwitch.com/.../Swimming_Induced_Pulmonary_Edema_SIPE__45.html
STEVE writes: I was a competitive swimmer most of my life, including some very intense times in the pool. The first time I ever noticed the rasping, inability to catch my breath, and dramatic loss of energy in my limbs, was in Charleston, South Carolina, my first such incident.
The race started with a .6 mile swim in Atlantic ocean, no waves, water was warm - mid 70's. Three-tenths of a mile into swim, my arms felt like lead, my breathing became raspy. Another tenth of a mile later, I was holding the kayaks every 20 feet or so, trying to catch my breath. Another tenth, and I stopped moving and started sinking under the water. I was grabbed by a lifeguard who saw me go under and taken to shore - I was conscious, blood coming from my mouth. I spent 90 minutes on the shore while they tried to get my oxygen levels up. They did not leave for the hospital because they thought I would go into cardiac arrest at any moment. In the emergency room, they gave me Lasix and Heprin drips, took x-rays and blood tests. Twelve hours after being pulled from the water, the diagnosis was congestive heart failure - they readied me for an Angiogram. Twenty-four hours after, the angiogram showed I had no heart problems. They moved me to get a full body CT scan to find the clots. Forty-eight hours afterward, they pulled all the drips out of me, told me they had no idea what had happened, and let me walk out of the hospital.
Following the Charleston race, I had extensive cardio-pulmonary testing done, including a stress echo. Nothing was found. The cardiac specialist told me the incident in was likely a one-time occurrence. In preparation for my next tri, I did extensive pool training, and the night before the race I put on my wetsuit and went for a 25-minute swim in the Pacific Ocean, about 2 miles from where the start of the race would be the next morning. Everything was fine.
Two-hundred yards in I felt great, was at the head of the group, no problems. Just after I felt very tired, very fast, no rasping, but could not catch my breath, I reached for the kayak. After another 50 yards I pulled down my wetsuit top to try to get more air, and realized I was in trouble again. I called for the boat, and was taken from the water with blood coming from my mouth and nose. They wanted to call the ambulance, I told them a lie: it is just asthma. I did not want all the same tests. I got home, took a diuretic, went to bed.
