I organized a swim recently and we had non-wetsuit and wetsuit categories. I'm fine with accommodating wetsuits for open water swimming. However, the challenge comes up in the awards portion. Should wetsuit swimmers be entitled to the exact same type of awards as non-wetsuit swimmers? The problem this poses as an organizer is that suddenly you need to purchase twice the number of awards to accommodate a separate division (wetsuit), even though everyone's swimming the same race.
What might be fair for next time (learning as I go) is to award the top 3 male/female non-wetsuit swimmers for each event, but just the #1 male and female in the wetsuit category for each event. They at least get acknowledged for their efforts.
Curious if anyone else has thoughts on this.
I was a little peeved at the Nubble Light swim this year when I realised at the awards that wetsuits had age group awards and nakeds only had one overall awards in each gender. I thought I was the only naked woman but lo and behold someone must have changed divisions at the last moment and beat be by about 2 minutes.....:bolt:
That definitely seems backward! If they're going to have separate awards, I'd think they should acknowledge the greater challenge the greater challenge of not wearing a wetsuit!
My experience: don't own a wetsuit and haven't ever used one (even just to try them out). No OW swim I've ever done was cold enough for me to feel I'd need one, and in some, I figured I'd be too warm in a wetsuit. In one swim, the water temp was said to be in the 60s (it didn't seem that cold except in pockets here and there) but it was such a hot day, I actually welcomed the cooler water temp.
In all the o.w. events I've been in (far fewer than many of you), there was no distinction between wetsuits and "naked" for awards either in age group or overall. Didn't much matter to me. In the larger races, I'm not fast enough for awards either way, and in smaller ones, my age group is sparsely enough populated that I manage to get awards by default (3rd out of ... whattyaknow--three!).
I won't say I'll never get or use a wetsuit, but given how constricting I've heard people say they are, I'm not in any hurry to get one. I like the freedom of just being in a swimsuit.
The aquathlon I plan on in June--an NYCSwim event--has the above-mentioned rules about briefs/jammers/wetsuits only for those doing just the swim; those doing the aquathlon will be allowed to wear wetsuits and such if the water temp is below a certain cut-off (I forget what that is). They say they follow USAT rules for the swim/run.
However, I don't plan to take advantage of the latitude given to those in the aquathlon. I doubt I'll need a wetsuit, plus I think it'll be an easier swim/run transition w/out fighting my way out of one.
As for awards, announce the policy in advance, and it should reduce, but likely won't eliminate complaints. But at least people will be informed and can choose to enter/not enter. And if they enter and complain, you can always point to the entry info and tell them to take a :chillpill:
I was a little peeved at the Nubble Light swim this year when I realised at the awards that wetsuits had age group awards and nakeds only had one overall awards in each gender. I thought I was the only naked woman but lo and behold someone must have changed divisions at the last moment and beat be by about 2 minutes.....:bolt:
That definitely seems backward! If they're going to have separate awards, I'd think they should acknowledge the greater challenge the greater challenge of not wearing a wetsuit!
My experience: don't own a wetsuit and haven't ever used one (even just to try them out). No OW swim I've ever done was cold enough for me to feel I'd need one, and in some, I figured I'd be too warm in a wetsuit. In one swim, the water temp was said to be in the 60s (it didn't seem that cold except in pockets here and there) but it was such a hot day, I actually welcomed the cooler water temp.
In all the o.w. events I've been in (far fewer than many of you), there was no distinction between wetsuits and "naked" for awards either in age group or overall. Didn't much matter to me. In the larger races, I'm not fast enough for awards either way, and in smaller ones, my age group is sparsely enough populated that I manage to get awards by default (3rd out of ... whattyaknow--three!).
I won't say I'll never get or use a wetsuit, but given how constricting I've heard people say they are, I'm not in any hurry to get one. I like the freedom of just being in a swimsuit.
The aquathlon I plan on in June--an NYCSwim event--has the above-mentioned rules about briefs/jammers/wetsuits only for those doing just the swim; those doing the aquathlon will be allowed to wear wetsuits and such if the water temp is below a certain cut-off (I forget what that is). They say they follow USAT rules for the swim/run.
However, I don't plan to take advantage of the latitude given to those in the aquathlon. I doubt I'll need a wetsuit, plus I think it'll be an easier swim/run transition w/out fighting my way out of one.
As for awards, announce the policy in advance, and it should reduce, but likely won't eliminate complaints. But at least people will be informed and can choose to enter/not enter. And if they enter and complain, you can always point to the entry info and tell them to take a :chillpill:
