So I was looking for a possible swim to do in October and came across this one distanceswimchallenge.com/ , however I read the FAQ's and saw the following:
Are wetsuits allowed?
Yes.
Are there separate wetsuit and non-wetsuit divisions?
No. Swim in whatever you like.
Personally this put me off a little, true I could still swim with out a wetsuit, however based on the race fee plus having to come up with my own kayak support, I want a little recognition that I did it without one. Additionally with the growth of open water marathon and ultra marathon (English & Catalina Channel) swims that follow channel rules of no wetsuits you'd think a swim like this would offer a non wetsuit category.
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I don't own a wetsuit mainly b/c I haven't felt like spending the $ to buy one--and I'd like eventually to try a couple of the colder water races in which they're not allowed, so I don't want to get too used to wearing them.
I'm quite slow, and my guess is that a wetsuit is unlikely to help me improve all that dramatically--maybe to get me from WAY back in the pack to merely back in the pack... can't imagine that it would make a lot of difference in my speed. The races I've been in--ranging from one mile to 5.25--all allowed wetsuits, but none of them had such cold water that a wetsuit would really be needed. In most, the water was over 70 degrees, and in one, over 80. In one other, a mile swim, I was told the temp would be in the high sixties, and maybe it was--but the day was so hot that I had no problem w/ the water temp.
So... should races have a wetsuit and non-wetsuit division? While I'm not attached to the idea one way or the other, I would be interested to see how I compare to those not using wetsuits. But that's not a huge consideration for me. It might be that organizers want to limit the awards budget and having two sets of awards for, say, two or three swims, could cost more than they want to spend for that particular aspect of their race. In my area, there are too few opportunities for o.w. swims as it is, so whatever gets people to sign up, thus encouraging more swimmers/ swims, I'd say go for it!
It has been shown that a wetsuit offers the slower swimmer a greater advantage than it does for the fast swimmer. Some have suggested it is because a wetsuit can improve your body position in the water by raising (and floating) your legs. Because a fast swimmers start with a better body position, they do not benefit as much. No actual testing of that hypo as far as I know.
I don't own a wetsuit mainly b/c I haven't felt like spending the $ to buy one--and I'd like eventually to try a couple of the colder water races in which they're not allowed, so I don't want to get too used to wearing them.
I'm quite slow, and my guess is that a wetsuit is unlikely to help me improve all that dramatically--maybe to get me from WAY back in the pack to merely back in the pack... can't imagine that it would make a lot of difference in my speed. The races I've been in--ranging from one mile to 5.25--all allowed wetsuits, but none of them had such cold water that a wetsuit would really be needed. In most, the water was over 70 degrees, and in one, over 80. In one other, a mile swim, I was told the temp would be in the high sixties, and maybe it was--but the day was so hot that I had no problem w/ the water temp.
So... should races have a wetsuit and non-wetsuit division? While I'm not attached to the idea one way or the other, I would be interested to see how I compare to those not using wetsuits. But that's not a huge consideration for me. It might be that organizers want to limit the awards budget and having two sets of awards for, say, two or three swims, could cost more than they want to spend for that particular aspect of their race. In my area, there are too few opportunities for o.w. swims as it is, so whatever gets people to sign up, thus encouraging more swimmers/ swims, I'd say go for it!
It has been shown that a wetsuit offers the slower swimmer a greater advantage than it does for the fast swimmer. Some have suggested it is because a wetsuit can improve your body position in the water by raising (and floating) your legs. Because a fast swimmers start with a better body position, they do not benefit as much. No actual testing of that hypo as far as I know.
