Ok, so the more they email me, the more I get nervous about the water temp. Last year it was 69 which stung to get in, but it made for a nice swimming temp. By the end, though, my fingers and toes felt a little numb, but that could have been tired (??).
But this year, it could be up to 10 degrees colder?! What to do when the coolest water I can find here in Cincinnati is 80?
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You're right, all of us, ALL OF US, are dweebs and online haters. In fact knelson and I have been posting here for 7+ years for the opportunity to spring this on someone. We have been diligent about posting for this single opportunity! Sucks for you Andy, but you are the target of our master plan!!!
High 5 knelson, we pulled it off!
On the other hand, after watching the race I felt obliged to purposely place myself into the conversation in large part because I felt that it was in the best interest of the sport. If anything, this controversy proves that there are substantial flaws in the way some in not many open water races are organized and officiated. Which, quite frankly, isn't all that surprising given the relative age and increased interest of this sport in the US- we could all attribute this as a necessary growing pain associated w/ OW swimming. I'm an outsider to USMS but as a lifelong member of the swimming community I'd like to think that controversies such as this help us to better organize future events and promote the sport. While I find a particular swimmer's time highly suspicious, there appears to be little that can be done about it at this time... the race ended long ago, but the greater question is what can be done to mitigate the chances that we'll be having similar discussions in years to come? In other words, something has to be done to ensure that swimmers are following the rules set forth (i.e. staying on course and rounding ALL of the marks). Secondly, I'd recommend that some system be put into place to ensure that swimmers are better matched in terms of ability/pace to provide a more realistic open water experience... particularly for those races in which multiple heats are deemed necessary. In terms of how this relates to OW and USMS championship races, I propose that swimmers have the option of choosing whether or not they'd like to chase after the overall championship or race against those in their so-called age bracket. In my mind, this type of arrangement (while divergent from other USMS championship policies/structures) appears to be the best and perhaps the only way to determine an OW champion. Better yet, it encourages a more authentic OW race environment.
You're right, all of us, ALL OF US, are dweebs and online haters. In fact knelson and I have been posting here for 7+ years for the opportunity to spring this on someone. We have been diligent about posting for this single opportunity! Sucks for you Andy, but you are the target of our master plan!!!
High 5 knelson, we pulled it off!
On the other hand, after watching the race I felt obliged to purposely place myself into the conversation in large part because I felt that it was in the best interest of the sport. If anything, this controversy proves that there are substantial flaws in the way some in not many open water races are organized and officiated. Which, quite frankly, isn't all that surprising given the relative age and increased interest of this sport in the US- we could all attribute this as a necessary growing pain associated w/ OW swimming. I'm an outsider to USMS but as a lifelong member of the swimming community I'd like to think that controversies such as this help us to better organize future events and promote the sport. While I find a particular swimmer's time highly suspicious, there appears to be little that can be done about it at this time... the race ended long ago, but the greater question is what can be done to mitigate the chances that we'll be having similar discussions in years to come? In other words, something has to be done to ensure that swimmers are following the rules set forth (i.e. staying on course and rounding ALL of the marks). Secondly, I'd recommend that some system be put into place to ensure that swimmers are better matched in terms of ability/pace to provide a more realistic open water experience... particularly for those races in which multiple heats are deemed necessary. In terms of how this relates to OW and USMS championship races, I propose that swimmers have the option of choosing whether or not they'd like to chase after the overall championship or race against those in their so-called age bracket. In my mind, this type of arrangement (while divergent from other USMS championship policies/structures) appears to be the best and perhaps the only way to determine an OW champion. Better yet, it encourages a more authentic OW race environment.
