Officials News

Long time OSI official Al Smith recently represented Oregon Swimming at an open water swimming clinic sponsored by USA Swimming.  As space was limited we were quite fortunate to have Al selected for attendance.  Al's report is enlightening; hopefully this will spark some of our officials to look into attending open water events.

See you on deck!

Bob McMillan

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In June, OSI sponsored my attendance at the Open Water Nationals in Long Beach with the hopes that an interest can be generated in Oregon in open water racing.

A clinic was conducted in conjunction with the event and I had the opportunity to train with open water officials from throughout the country and met swimmers and coaches from the national team.

It was exciting to watch swimmers, after swimming 10-kilometers, lined up six abreast, shoulder to shoulder with 50 meters left to swim, in an all out sprint.

Open water racing can be held in any venue - ocean, harbor, river, lake, pond, and reservoir or even in a 50 meter pool with buoys placed out from the corners so swimmers would not contact the walls.  There are no lane lines, pool walls or controlled water and air temperature.  Swimming conditions can change quickly and be beyond the control of the sponsors.  These challenges have led to the Open Water Swimming motto, “Expect the unexpected”.

In Oregon we have many bodies of water that would be acceptable venues for an open water event.  Oregon masters do hold open water events to which an OSI sanction could be added.  There are also triathlons where the course is already set up to which an open water race could be held in conjunction.

Safety is of primary concern and extraordinary measures need to be taken to insure that the same number of swimmers exit the water as enter it.  All swimmers must be observed at all times and all must be accounted for.

On every swim team, there are swimmers who would enjoy and excel in this Olympic event and we owe it to them to have the opportunity.

I through my contacts in the Open Water Racing community can be a resource for conducting an open water event.

Al Smith

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