What should be the maximum allowable water temperature

interesting question. i know of a few lakes in the south that have had incidents of deadly brain eating amoeba at temperatures above 80 F. other than that, i would think that air quality would be an important factor in determining weather a "warm water event" would pose a risk to the safety of swimmers.

WOW, never even thought of that - always cold comes to mind in Chicago.

I'm curious on what you think the water temps will be for the USA/USMS OW Championships in Ft. Meyers, FL on June 10-12, 2011 will be? I'd like to do the race but if it's going to be over 80F again it may difficult to get excited about.QUOTE] The water temps will definitely be in the 80s, probably lower 80s though, unless the lake is spring fed. If so, it could be cooler.

Well Ken I took a couple of moments and went to your favorite swim blog: offthedeck. After reading this I can understand why. A very scientific and systematic approach to training. "Brownies were not a random choice, but a process of elimination end-result. Here’s the breakdown: 1) brownies are yummy 2) brownies are crowd-pleasers 3) brownies can easily be made from scratch 4) brownies can be made simple or elaborate 5) brownies offer endless variation per batch via batter, mix-ins, etc. 6) brownies can easily be decorated or embellished 7) brownies can be “healthy-ed up” without sacrifcing taste or texture" I told her I was disappointed she didn't mention "medicated brownies" ;)

I'm curious on what you think the water temps will be for the USA/USMS OW Championships in Ft. Meyers, FL on June 10-12, 2011 will be? I'd like to do the race but if it's going to be over 80F again it may difficult to get excited about.QUOTE] The water temps will definitely be in the 80s, probably lower 80s though, unless the lake is spring fed. If so, it could be cooler. YUK!

Well, according to our boat captain, the water temp at the official "Swim around Key West" in June was 91. I would NOT recommend that to anyone! I did only 4.5 mile on a 3-man relay.....I could not wait to get out. I don't know how the solo swimmers did it, I really don't. Most of my OW swims are in 80-86 here in the SE.

Interesting question. I think the responses will be different based on where people live and train. I live in the Sarasota/Bradenton area in Florida and I train in the Gulf all summer where water temps get into the upper 80s with air temps in the mid 90s. Hot conditions, but we adapt. Even some of the outside pools in the area that aren't chilled can get into the upper 80s during the summer. Training in those conditions is tough and not very enjoyable but a must if you want to train all summer long. We had someone visting our area from San Diego. They did an OW training swim with our masters group a few weeks back and had a hard time in the hot water. He just wasn't use to it. For me, the concern is always how cold the water is. The coldest 5k I did had water temps of around 69-70, which for me was pretty cool. For many of you, that's more like bath water. Anything below 65 would make me nervous since I have no experience in that cold of water.

Interesting question. I think the responses will be different based on where people live and train. I live in the Sarasota/Bradenton area in Florida and I train in the Gulf all summer where water temps get into the upper 80s with air temps in the mid 90s. Hot conditions, but we adapt. Even some of the outside pools in the area that aren't chilled can get into the upper 80s during the summer. Training in those conditions is tough and not very enjoyable but a must if you want to train all summer long.. I'm from Colorado and did the USMS 10K OW Championship in Indiana this year. Water was 85F, which was not a benefit for me. I was able to swim but felt like I couldn't race as I just became to warm. However, many of the locals and folks who trained at the event site or OW in the area seemed much better adapted. I'm curious on what you think the water temps will be for the USA/USMS OW Championships in Ft. Meyers, FL on June 10-12, 2011 will be? I'd like to do the race but if it's going to be over 80F again it may difficult to get excited about. www.openwaterfestival.org/ It would be interersting to get some science behind this, maybe USA/USMS swimming & UST (triathlon) need to pony up a grant for a little research in the area.

Ok I'm a shill, but my favorite swim blog is www.offthedeck.net, she even spent the $1.95 to get her very own web domain. Well Ken I took a couple of moments and went to your favorite swim blog: offthedeck. After reading this I can understand why. A very scientific and systematic approach to training. "Brownies were not a random choice, but a process of elimination end-result. Here’s the breakdown: 1) brownies are yummy 2) brownies are crowd-pleasers 3) brownies can easily be made from scratch 4) brownies can be made simple or elaborate 5) brownies offer endless variation per batch via batter, mix-ins, etc. 6) brownies can easily be decorated or embellished 7) brownies can be “healthy-ed up” without sacrifcing taste or texture"

Local officials said all safety measures were in place for the race, but the race's winner, Germany's Thomas Lurz, said that it was far too hot to hold the competition. "The water was amazingly hot," Lurz said in a statement. "There were many swimmers who had serious problems in the water." Maddy Crippen said that her brother had never been in better shape. "My brother prided himself on being a specimen of excellence," she said with a quiet laugh. "He was at the height of his physical fitness." Several swimmers complained of dehydration and disorientation after swimming in the warm water and three were taken to the hospital. The UAE Swimming Association said the water was 84 degrees at the start of the race, but many swimmers have come forward to insist it was more like 90 degrees. abcnews.go.com/.../story In light of the Fran Crippen tragedy, I think this thread needs to be resurrected. If FINA doesn't act quickly with research on this subject I hope that USMS, USA Swimming and some of the Triathlon organizations will. Regarding the UAE swim association on the temperature. I know race promoters are under a lot of pressure to make sure an event happens. I have heard many rumors in the Triathlon community where race directors drop there thermometer in deep part of the lake or somewhere they know it's cooler so entrants can continue to ware there wetsuits. With strong growth of open water swimming and triathlon, this issues needs to be addressed now and firm guidelines put into place. It's so sad that it had to come to his.