Russia swims
IronMike
Northern VirginiaCharter Member
If anyone is interested, there are some swims coming up over here in Russia and environs:
*17 June, Seliger Swim in Ostashkov (halfway btwn Moscow & St. Petersburg), choice of 10K, 5K, nautical mile and 2 x 5K relay (they offer a bus from each city to the swim for a small fee);
*15 July, Volga Swim at Nizhny Novgorod, choice of 1K, 3K and 5K;
29 July, Lake Baikal in Listvyanka village outside Irkutsk, choice of 1K and 5K.
The organizers know English very well and they offer visa support and hotel packages!
Come see this wonderful country and enjoy some swims. As a bonus, if you attend the ones with asterisks next to them, you get to meet me! /ha, snort/
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
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Reviving this thread as I've found so many more swims here in Russia! If you're interested in coming to Russia for some of these, let me know. PM me if you need more info.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
A few nice nice races within driving/camping distance out of Moscow, what fun that would be! The 5k on Lake Baikal would be the best experience... but the Black Sea races would be cool as well. Too much choice.
My first attempt at swimming an OW event in Russia failed.
The afternoon/early evening prior (Friday the 26th) I finally found the _положение _or "situation." Basically, it is the rules covering the event. Nineteen pages worth! My Russian reading is good enough, but it still took me a while to find a few things:
One, I needed a справка/spravka, basically a doctor's note saying I'm healthy. I had that. I learned years ago when I first lived here that you can't do anything without the spravka and make damn sure it's got all the correct stamps or that babushka won't let you through the door.
Unfortunately, the spravka for the swim had to specify that I was healthy for swimming AND healthy for the particular distance I signed up for. Oy.
Secondly, the spravka had to be fewer than six months old. Mine was six months, seventeen days old. Oy #2.
Thirdly, I had to have proof of insurance that if I got hurt, someone somewhere would take care of me. Oy #3.
I've remedied these areas and have even gotten the okay from the organizers of a swim this Sunday, a 5.8K in a rowing venue here in Moscow. I will report back on how that goes. I had to send them a resume of "cold water" experience so that they wouldn't make me wear a wetsuit in 17* water.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
This experience sounds like the next chapter in Pomerantsev's Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia, but also very much like "old Russia."
Good luck with the swim and the babushkas!
Interesting that there is visa support for swimmers, as noted in the first post. I understand that foreigners must now have an "invitation" to enter Russia.
That's been a requirement at least since late 2009 when I first got here. Not as onerous as it sounds: Once you confirm your hotel stay, the hotel writes your letter of invitation.
But still, if Russia wants more tourism, they could make it easier for people to come.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
First Russian OW swim complete. More info on it at my blog. It was great!
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I still can't believe you don't look like the Dos Equis man.
"Every time he goes for a swim, dolphins appear."
I had no idea about this form. I keep a general medical form signed by my doctor recommending me for marathon swimming, ice swimming, etc. but this is incredibly specific. I don't even think I am usually asked at all for my form in Russia although I have seen people get denied from the on-site medical checks? But well done, I am glad you got through the swim AND the paperwork!