"Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:40:11 GMT

bump

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 17:44:15 GMT

The ocean has no conscience.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 07:30:01 GMT

I think it's needed just for health considerations.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:33:28 GMT

I never trained in water under 60 degrees unless I had to. I raced in any temperature but could never say I enjoyed cold water. I was known as a cold water swimmer but did not like it. Lake Ontario could be 70 degrees when I went to train by the time I got there it would be 60 and I would go in then an hour later it would be 55. Off shore breeze meant cold water. When it was cold I would drive an hour or two to find warm water. Sometimes swimming in some pretty polluted water eg the Credit River just west of Toronto.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:49:05 GMT

George I enjoyed it,..I especially enjoyed getting out and taking a hot shower and then having a shot of scotch. The Ocean scares me. Sometimes it embraces me like a lover and other times it acts like it doesn`t know me. The smell of the water, its "abrasive" character, the sound of the waves and wind, combined with the color of the sky and the bite of the air makes for an otherworldy experience.....being alone with your thoughts is probably the scariest part of it all. Swimming,...the closest thing to flying. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ><>

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:52:53 GMT

53 degrees for half an hour did you really enjoy it. 38 degrees for a few hours now that was frosty, I did that and did not enjoy it.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:29:42 GMT

"Very very few people can swim in water in the mid 50s." I`m 56 years old and I swim in water,....:groovy: Seriously,..I have swam in 53 degree water for a half hour and enjoyed it,...yes, it stung at first, but soon, it was "pleasant",...ya gotta keep moving. In June, I`ll be swimming Alcatraz sans wetsuit.:fish2:

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:35:06 GMT

I did not get this old being stupid, if it's that cold - wear one & enjoy what we do! if open water swimming were easy, smart people would do it too.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:40:26 GMT

Holy moley Kurt I'm not arguing, I am bantering. "By irrelevant, I am referring to the results not the person. Right now, I don't believe any USMS or USS sanctioned swims allow a wetsuit to be considered for awards. So in most competitions I've seen, the fastest swimmers swim without one, making the results of the wetsuit division rather meaningless" Wrong. "I believe there is no way wetsuits are allowed at the Olympics (unless you are talking about triathlon)." I don't know. Perhaps someone with more knowledge than you or I will fill our gap. I prefer to not wear a wetsuit. If the water is below 65 (18.3 to my Euro friends) I wear the rubber. Very very few people can swim in water in the mid 50s.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:57:47 GMT

Ted Erickson no wet suit here www.youtube.com/watch Here is Ted at 78 years swimming 100 fly www.youtube.com/watch

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:52:31 GMT

No wet suits here. Ted Erickson's web site has a few good swimming videos. This video comprises 2 swims, the English Channel and The Lake St Jean swim from Peribonka to Roberval Quebec. video.google.ca/videoplay

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Rob Copeland — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:08:22 GMT

Wetsuits are NOT allowed in Olympic open water competition. Wetsuits MAY be allowed at the discretion of the meet director in USMS sanctioned open water events. Awards MAY be given to wetsuited swimmers, however if awards are given to wetsuit competitors they shall be awarded separately from those for non-wetsuit competitors. Any published results or records must clearly indicate which swimmers wore wetsuits.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Kurt Dickson — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 08:35:14 GMT

Irrelevant? Hmmmm. Anybody know if wetsuits will be allowed at the Olympics? I'm not sure what we are arguing about anymore. This thread is so old anyway. By irrelevant, I am referring to the results not the person. Right now, I don't believe any USMS or USS sanctioned swims allow a wetsuit to be considered for awards. So in most competitions I've seen, the fastest swimmers swim without one, making the results of the wetsuit division rather meaningless (if one is determined to derive some sort of self-worth out of the result and not simply for the sake of just finishing/competing--in which there is worth to the individual). By this I'm not suggesting that people that wear wetsuits are worthless (I am often seen costumed with neoprene in the spirit of competition). Swim with or without...it is all good. I believe there is no way wetsuits are allowed at the Olympics (unless you are talking about triathlon). So in the spirit of peace, love, and understanding (and Rodney King)--let's let this thread die again.:dedhorse::drown::snore:

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 06:43:55 GMT

Irrelevant? Hmmmm. Anybody know if wetsuits will be allowed at the Olympics?

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

jgale — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 04:04:08 GMT

We have a few local swimmers who have the same attitudes about wetsuits. I am not sure why some have such issues with wetsuits. Live and let live is my motto. If its cold (frequently the case off the coast of Maine), I will wear my suit and not think twice about it. If others choose not to, it is their business. I don't think it makes me less of a swimmer to wear a wetsuit.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:10:35 GMT

I think wetsuits should be welcomed in all OW events, especially in tidal waters, and their use noted or differentiated in scoring. I was in the Ches Bay swim that was stopped in the early '90s and can attest to dangerous and chaotic situation that day (the kayakers and boaters did a fantastic job in emergency conditions). I have low body fat and wore a shortie suit - more for warmth than buoyancy. I had previously finished the race twice but was struggling the get across the main channel where the current and chop were worst. I am glad that I was not discouraged or prohibited from wearing the suit that day. I have competed in multiple sports for many years and I accept that there will be competitive advantages across the sport whether its financial freedom to train more hours or proximity to water or a genetic VO2 max capacity (it is amusing to listen to a triathlete parse the advantages of a wetsuit while straddling a three thousand dollar bike). I agree with the earlier posters who invite cheerful compromise and inclusiveness to the betterment of the event and the swim community.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Kurt Dickson — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 09:36:39 GMT

I race with a wetsuit in triathlons. There is no argument that they are faster. I don't have any problem letting people use wet suits for open water races; it just makes you irrelevant in the final standings. If it makes you feel good winning the wetsuit division, then knock yourself out. It's like when I race as a clydesdale in triathlons--nobody cares that I got first out of a total of two fat people.:2cents:

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:43:09 GMT

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 did not get this old being stupid, if it's that cold - wear one & enjoy what we do! Why stop with a wetsuit, if one gets a boat as Ted Erikson suggests, your next stop will be membership with Mensa International. :soapbox: The real question is who do you respect more Barry Bonds or Henry Aaron?

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:20:14 GMT

I did not get this old being stupid, if it's that cold - wear one & enjoy what we do! Yay! Another pragmatist! :applaud:

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

orca1946 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:39:54 GMT

I did not get this old being stupid, if it's that cold - wear one & enjoy what we do!

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Former Member — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:47:21 GMT

I'd say its the case that virtually all swimmers are significantly faster with a wetsuit than without one. Unfortunately, the speed effect seems to be that wetsuits aid swimmers who are slower and/or have technique flaws more than they aid swimmers who are faster and/or have better technique. This tends to revert all towards the average, which is not a desired effect in competition. Essentially, wetsuits create another division, so in races, results ought to differentiate. Most OW swim races do this, but triathlons do not. I suppose the best you could hope for in tris is that wetsuits should be disallowed above a certain temperature, say 70F, but that is not likely to happen. As for wearing them at all, I much prefer to not wear a wetsuit. My technique is fine and I prefer the feeling of the water, but when its cold, they get me in the water for training swims.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Kurt Dickson — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:21:47 GMT

"I suppose the best you could hope for in tris is that wetsuits should be disallowed above a certain temperature, say 70F, but that is not likely to happen." Actually, triathlons forbid wetsuits above 78 degrees (you can wear but are not eligible for prizes). I shed mine above 70 degrees as the overheating factor trumps the buoyancy factor for me.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

FindingMyInnerFish — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:25:31 GMT

I've done the Columbia River Race in 58 degree water without one (only 3 out of a field of 75) and was accused of not taking the race seriously! Tree Say what? I thought the wetsuit was considered less "purist"! I have no wetsuit, but not for "purist" reasons... just b/c of $$. I might eventually try one to see how I like it, but the o.w. swims I've done have all been in water temps of 65 and above, and even when the temp was in the 60s the air temp was warm enough that I didn't feel all that cold. In my longest o.w. swim, the first place swimmer, and several in the top ten weren't wearing wetsuits. Of course, it was a very warm day and warm water (70s), so could be that wetsuits in those conditions might hinder more than help. I know that at no time during that swim was I ever cold (seasick, yes, but not cold, ha!), and had I worn a wetsuit, I think I would have been too warm.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

Muppet — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:57:38 GMT

I think one non-wetsuit category would suffice. But keep it pure, no caps, goggles, paddlers, or lifeguards. Everyone should own up to thier own limitations. I wouldn't call any of these limitations. Especially when swimming a body of water like the Chesapeake Bay where water is not chrystal-clear and is subject to boat traffic or marine life, these measures are there to help minimize the risk of a disaster. a bright-colored cap identifies where you are; goggles help you make sure you stay on course, especially if there aren't two large lane lines like there are for the bay swim; the paddlers/lifeguards are there to not only make sure you can make it across, but also are easily identified by other boaters and prevent you from getting run over by boat traffic.

RE: "Real swimmers don't wear wetsuits"

fatboy — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:38:40 GMT

Say what? I thought the wetsuit was considered less "purist"! I think that the rational for the "not taking it seriously" remark is that it is generally believed that most people are faster with a wetsuit. So if most of the field is wearing a wetsuit and you are not, you are not you are giving them an edge and therefore not going all out to win.