I’m curious what the USMS Open water board, task force etc., is thinking going forward? I understand that appears the USMS insurance provider did a fast one and the board scrambled to do what it could for the 2013 season. But does the board think what the insurance provider required acceptable or unacceptable? Moving forward into the 2014 season and beyond what are USMS OW goals going to be regarding this? Speaking as a member/client of USMS the status quo as it now stands is unacceptable. Going forward I hope the USMS OW board feels the same way and starts formulating a new plan and if that involves a new insurance provider so be it.
One thing that struck me in this whole brew haha is that there are really three distinct categories of open water events when it comes to the escort boats.
1. A relatively closed course or courses with where the entire race is always within a couple of hundred years of land and safety personal can safely cover it in non-motorized craft.
2. Courses where the swimmers are primarily escorted by non-motorized craft, but where motorized craft are used for secondary safety for example; to speedily get a swimmer off the race course to avoid a cruise ship ;-) or more likely to quickly ferry them to land based emergency personal. In addition used to warn and intercept other non race involved powered water craft that a race is in progress but generally stay well out of the way of the swimmers. Examples of this kind of race would be the Horsetooth reservoir swim in Colorado or the Kingdom 10-milier in Vermont.
3. Third type of OW event is where the motorized craft is the primary escort to the swimmer. An example would be an English or Catalina channel crossing. The swimmer is so far off shore and conditions could become so rough this is the only safe way to escort the swimmer. Another example would be the race that set this whole thing off the Maui Channel relay.
So it was a category 3 event that caused this entire thing and what makes it sad is it’s the least participated in category by USMS and most other open water events. I think the distinction is clear and something many of the race directors have been trying to convey to the USMS powers that be.
I’m curious what the USMS Open water board, task force etc., is thinking going forward? I understand that appears the USMS insurance provider did a fast one and the board scrambled to do what it could for the 2013 season. But does the board think what the insurance provider required acceptable or unacceptable? Moving forward into the 2014 season and beyond what are USMS OW goals going to be regarding this? Speaking as a member/client of USMS the status quo as it now stands is unacceptable. Going forward I hope the USMS OW board feels the same way and starts formulating a new plan and if that involves a new insurance provider so be it.
One thing that struck me in this whole brew haha is that there are really three distinct categories of open water events when it comes to the escort boats.
1. A relatively closed course or courses with where the entire race is always within a couple of hundred years of land and safety personal can safely cover it in non-motorized craft.
2. Courses where the swimmers are primarily escorted by non-motorized craft, but where motorized craft are used for secondary safety for example; to speedily get a swimmer off the race course to avoid a cruise ship ;-) or more likely to quickly ferry them to land based emergency personal. In addition used to warn and intercept other non race involved powered water craft that a race is in progress but generally stay well out of the way of the swimmers. Examples of this kind of race would be the Horsetooth reservoir swim in Colorado or the Kingdom 10-milier in Vermont.
3. Third type of OW event is where the motorized craft is the primary escort to the swimmer. An example would be an English or Catalina channel crossing. The swimmer is so far off shore and conditions could become so rough this is the only safe way to escort the swimmer. Another example would be the race that set this whole thing off the Maui Channel relay.
So it was a category 3 event that caused this entire thing and what makes it sad is it’s the least participated in category by USMS and most other open water events. I think the distinction is clear and something many of the race directors have been trying to convey to the USMS powers that be.
