The open water discussion has been a little boring lately so time to add some controversy. The above quote was affixed to a plaque my swimmers gave me when I retired as Head Coach of the University of Denver Masters Swim Team. Yes, they knew where I stood on the subject. Others share my view. In my day job as a stock broker I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal “Wimp or Triathlete, You Probably Like That New Wetsuit" by Kevin Helliker, published on September 24, 1999. In it were several memorable quotes on the subject. "How pathetic, says Betsy Brennan a Lake Michigan swimmer" "When I see people in wetsuits, I think: wimp." Another Chicagoan Ted Erikson, who did a double crossing of the English Channel without a wetsuit, said on the increasingly use of wetsuit by swimmers in Lake Michigan. "I ask them, 'Why don't you just get a boat? Boats have heaters.”:D
i feel very strongly that if you need a wetsuit/surfboard/any other type of equipment in order to feel safe or comfortable in the ocean, you should not be swimming in the ocean!!!Personally, I believe that anything that helps get people swimming is a good thing. If it takes a wetsuit to get someone to try open water swimming, then put on the wetsuit and come on in.
I prefer to go without, as long as the water temp is above 50F, but if it wasn’t for wetsuits I wouldn’t have had any training partners when I went for cold water training swims.
i feel very strongly that if you need a wetsuit/surfboard/any other type of equipment in order to feel safe or comfortable in the ocean, you should not be swimming in the ocean!!!Personally, I believe that anything that helps get people swimming is a good thing. If it takes a wetsuit to get someone to try open water swimming, then put on the wetsuit and come on in.
I prefer to go without, as long as the water temp is above 50F, but if it wasn’t for wetsuits I wouldn’t have had any training partners when I went for cold water training swims.
