August 12th, the Furthest North open water swim in North America! Located in Sitka, Alaska.
Men's and women's age group and Relay divisions will be awarded trophies and ribbons.
Solo or relay 10k, 5k and 1k open water swims in Sitka Sound, with a water temperature range in the mid 50’s. The course will start at the Mount Edgecumbe High School ramp on Japonski Island. The course will then take the swimmers north out of Sitka Channel and westward along the Fort Rousseau Causeway State Historic Site and loop back to the Mt. Edgecumbe ramp to finish. A turnaround point in course will be available for those swimming the 5k and 1K distances.
Sanction pending with USMS.
Visit www.changeyourlatitude.org for more information.
First of all, kudos to you both for wanting to organize an event up there. Regardless of my feelings about wetsuits, I think it's great for the sport of open-water swimming to have an opportunity in Sitka, Alaska (10K, especially!). And I admire your focus on safety.
I'm still wondering how you will obtain a USMS sanction with a wetsuit requirement. Is that even possible? Wouldn't a USMS-sanctioned open water event need to follow USMS guidelines for OW events - i.e., separate divisions, with "skin" being the default? Possibly I'm wrong about that. Either way, I'm curious to know. One similarly thermally challenging event is the Nubble Light Challenge in Maine -- but that's only 2.4 miles, and it's sanctioned by USAT, not USMS. They mandate wetsuits if the water is below 58F (with exceptions granted on an individual basis).
Cold is subjective. People's tolerance for it varies - and it can be developed, just like any other skill. Some people swim quite comfortably in the 50s F, while others may need a wetsuit even in 68-degree Elk Lake, Oregon, right Kris? ;-)
I guess what it comes down to is, do you trust swimmers' ability to make that decision for themselves? And do you trust the event's safety apparatus to come through if there's a problem? I understand where you're coming from as a safety-minded race director. From the swimmer's perspective, though, a "wetsuit mandate" signifies that the organizers think they know me (and my cold tolerance) better than I know myself. As much as I'd love to visit Sitka, that's a deal-breaker for me.
Separate divisions, separate awards. 1-hour qualifying swim for skin entrants. Those are my :2cents:
First of all, kudos to you both for wanting to organize an event up there. Regardless of my feelings about wetsuits, I think it's great for the sport of open-water swimming to have an opportunity in Sitka, Alaska (10K, especially!). And I admire your focus on safety.
I'm still wondering how you will obtain a USMS sanction with a wetsuit requirement. Is that even possible? Wouldn't a USMS-sanctioned open water event need to follow USMS guidelines for OW events - i.e., separate divisions, with "skin" being the default? Possibly I'm wrong about that. Either way, I'm curious to know. One similarly thermally challenging event is the Nubble Light Challenge in Maine -- but that's only 2.4 miles, and it's sanctioned by USAT, not USMS. They mandate wetsuits if the water is below 58F (with exceptions granted on an individual basis).
Cold is subjective. People's tolerance for it varies - and it can be developed, just like any other skill. Some people swim quite comfortably in the 50s F, while others may need a wetsuit even in 68-degree Elk Lake, Oregon, right Kris? ;-)
I guess what it comes down to is, do you trust swimmers' ability to make that decision for themselves? And do you trust the event's safety apparatus to come through if there's a problem? I understand where you're coming from as a safety-minded race director. From the swimmer's perspective, though, a "wetsuit mandate" signifies that the organizers think they know me (and my cold tolerance) better than I know myself. As much as I'd love to visit Sitka, that's a deal-breaker for me.
Separate divisions, separate awards. 1-hour qualifying swim for skin entrants. Those are my :2cents:
