Water Temp v wetsuit

I dislike the word because it can connote backwardness, narrow-mindedness, and intolerance... but yes, that's at least part of it. I am not a traditionalist in most aspects of my life, but in sports I think it often makes sense. Should we allow aluminum bats in major league baseball? Should we lower the rim to 8 feet in basketball? I would certainly benefit from a paddles-and-buoy event in pool swimming, but I'd never seriously argue for the establishment of one. If "tradition" is good enough for Kevin Murphy and Nick Adams (CS&PF), Mike Read and Julie Bradshaw (CSA), Forrest Nelson and Carol Sing (CCSF), Morty Berger (MIMS & Ederle), Phil Rush (Cook Strait), etc. etc. -- and all those who came before them - then it's good enough for me. But no one is arguing to change anything. What's the fear about (lowering the rim, adding paddles... those things aren't happening)? I get tradition. I get that OW swimmers are proud of their non wetsuit alcatraz swims, and I agree that it's more difficult, takes more preparation, more willingness to be uncomfortable... No one is taking that away from you. Every open water swim I do that allows wetsuits either (1) renders the wearer ineligible for an award or (2) has separate divisions. Some open water swims - Alcatraz - I wear a wetsuit (along with the huge majority). Some open water swims - everything in so cal between July and September - I don't. Those that don't want to wear wetsuits, don't wear wetsuits. I find it's quite a big ocean out there and there's plenty of room for everyone. I guess I just am not sure why people who only do OW swimming care what people who do tris -- different sport, different rules, different governing bodies -- wear in the water (although I think it's ironic that chicken admits to wearing a wetsuit in a triathlon while railing against their use simply because he didn't want to get beat out of the water, that's why 99.99% of triathletes wear them). Unless, of course, it's merely to say that OW swimmers are "better" in whatever sense of the word. Which is cool, it's human nature to do that after all. In the cycling world, roadies bag on mountain bikers bag on fixie riders bag on roadies bag on.... and on and on. Bt it's all just riding a bike after all. It's all rather silly in the end. Guess people just like to pump up "their" crowd and excoriate "the other" crowd.

I dislike the word because it can connote backwardness, narrow-mindedness, and intolerance... but yes, that's at least part of it. I am not a traditionalist in most aspects of my life, but in sports I think it often makes sense. Should we allow aluminum bats in major league baseball? Should we lower the rim to 8 feet in basketball? I would certainly benefit from a paddles-and-buoy event in pool swimming, but I'd never seriously argue for the establishment of one. If "tradition" is good enough for Kevin Murphy and Nick Adams (CS&PF), Mike Read and Julie Bradshaw (CSA), Forrest Nelson and Carol Sing (CCSF), Morty Berger (MIMS & Ederle), Phil Rush (Cook Strait), etc. etc. -- and all those who came before them - then it's good enough for me. But no one is arguing to change anything. What's the fear about (lowering the rim, adding paddles... those things aren't happening)? I get tradition. I get that OW swimmers are proud of their non wetsuit alcatraz swims, and I agree that it's more difficult, takes more preparation, more willingness to be uncomfortable... No one is taking that away from you. Every open water swim I do that allows wetsuits either (1) renders the wearer ineligible for an award or (2) has separate divisions. Some open water swims - Alcatraz - I wear a wetsuit (along with the huge majority). Some open water swims - everything in so cal between July and September - I don't. Those that don't want to wear wetsuits, don't wear wetsuits. I find it's quite a big ocean out there and there's plenty of room for everyone. I guess I just am not sure why people who only do OW swimming care what people who do tris -- different sport, different rules, different governing bodies -- wear in the water (although I think it's ironic that chicken admits to wearing a wetsuit in a triathlon while railing against their use simply because he didn't want to get beat out of the water, that's why 99.99% of triathletes wear them). Unless, of course, it's merely to say that OW swimmers are "better" in whatever sense of the word. Which is cool, it's human nature to do that after all. In the cycling world, roadies bag on mountain bikers bag on fixie riders bag on roadies bag on.... and on and on. Bt it's all just riding a bike after all. It's all rather silly in the end. Guess people just like to pump up "their" crowd and excoriate "the other" crowd.