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Chesapeake Bay Swim lottery
TriBee
Member
First draw on the lottery is tomorrow. Anybody else waiting to hear if they got in?
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(See related thread)
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
RMM, sorry to hear about your injury.
Rosemarymint, I am so sorry to hear about the elbow - hope you will have a speedy recovery.
For those of you who don't get in, I suggest the following as a replacement swim. It's in the same approximate area and I enjoy it far more than the Bay swim:
http://www.swimdcac.org/DCAC/swimforlife/Home.html
It's 13 July this year, which is the same day as End-Wet and later than they have traditionally done it. It's a GREAT swim.
-LBJ
“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” - Oscar Wilde
GCBS has a less enlightened wetsuit policy than USAT, which at least has water temp limits on eligibility of wetsuits.
In my opinion, it's an unsafe event. And a couple years ago someone died while wearing a wetsuit in water that was reported to be 80+ degrees. Unfortunately, the autopsy/investigation was never made public, so we can't know for sure if it was over-heating.
Also, the linmark website is a sordid mess. You'd think with all the cash they rake in, they could afford to hire a professional web designer.
Seriously, every swimmer needs to have the good sense to know when conditions are suitable--or not--for a wetsuit, and how to cool off during the swim if unexpected heating occurs.
As of now, looks like I didn't get in on the first lottery draw. Will keep my fingers crossed a bit longer.
Leonard, thanks for the link to the MD race. I've got a conflict that weekend, but I'll keep it in mind if something opens up. Glad to see they've got a 5 miler in there.
The GCBS wetsuit policy is hazardous. IMO.
Someone died in the GCBS two years ago.
One effect of such regulations is to induce swimmers to ignore internal misgivings and swim anyways ... to conclude that if the organizers say it is safe, then it must be safe for everyone including themselves. That is, some swimmers will end up wearing one when otherwise they would not wear one because they are thinking to themselves "it seems too hot today for me to wear one".
I think it is likely that risk in some market segments is in indeed decreased by such regulations. I also think such regulations increase it in others. The question is, what is the net impact? do such regulations decrease or increase the number of incidents for their entire scope? Or, to be cynical, are they adopted simply to shield the infrastructure by making the event insurable?
Anyway. From my perspective the quote above is more than a nice thought. It is an example of the bottom line. Swimming safely means taking full individual responsibility. Period. Always.
But...
This is precisely the dynamic encouraged by the GCBS (lack of) wetsuit policy. The organizers, in effect, encourage the use of wetsuits, regardless of water temperature, by not distinguishing the use of neoprene in the overall results listing. So, anyone who cares about their placement is effectively pressured to wear a wetsuit, even if they might have internal misgivings about the safety of doing so.
Moreover, less experienced swimmers who might not realize the dangers of overheating in a wetsuit, see everyone else wearing one (because of the arms-race dynamic described above) and conclude it must be safe.
One solution is completely separate listings of wetsuit & non-wetsuit, a la USMS. Another solution is banning wetsuits above a certain water temp, a la USAT. Neither is a perfect solution, but both are far better than the GCBS.
As I tried to argue above, doing so perhaps inadequately, assessing the net impact of such a regulation is difficult at best. While a regulation may decrease risk in one group, it may increase risk in another group. What is the net impact? I do agree that separate listings and/or a temperature ceiling would lead to decreased risk for certain types. But it is equally easy to point out types for whom either policy would lead to increased risk. I'd be interested in reading an argument on the net impact, even if it only argues qualitatively, that is, that the net impact is positive, neutral, or negative. I don't have a net impact argument. I don't know of one. So as much as I may like to, I'm unable to rank the policies of USMS, USAT, GCBS.
In practical terms, any net consequence may be irrelevant. Such policies may have been drafted simply because an insurance company offered a lower premium if one was adopted, or an insurance company flat out required one be adopted, or because a lawyer advised that adopting one would more robustly shield the infrastructure.
I think mixing a swim with an external reward (pre-swim fundraising, ranking, fame, membership in a 'club', cash, endorsement contracts, this-is-nonrefundable-so-i-better-do-it, ...) can lead to persevering beyond the individual's better judgment. I think external reward is the, er, root evil, not neoprene.
For which "type," specifically, do you think this policy would increase risk, compared to what GCBS does?
I agree.
To avoid feeling like a, er, wetsuit whimp, a wetsuit swimmer may swim skin in a unified event. In separate events, that swimmer may choose their normal attire (a wetsuit).
CLARIFICATION: From my perspective, and I think the perspective of very many on this forum, wearing a wetsuit does not have a negative stigma; it is just different. Still, by design wetsuits are protection. That simple fact is sufficient in/of itself to lead to a sense of whimping out; it does not require persecution.
I didn't get in. So, I won't be doing it for the 11th time this year. I guess being a good customer doesn't get you much any more.
Perhaps you had people complaining about all of your top 5 finishes!
Good luck at Potomac. I waited too long and missed that one.
check your email--they did a fourth lottery today mid-afternoon. I know because that's when the magic email arrived. I'm in! Holy crap, I'm in.
Sorry you didn't get in.
TriBee - Linda T told me a 4th selection round was coming. I've been on top of my emails since then. Nothing.
With my luck, this will be the year the water will be 60 degrees and there will be 10-15 knot headwind. I've been waiting for that scenario.
Potomac is considerably harder.
They are both well run events. Potomac list whether or not you wore wetsuit and gives separate awards. Little Red Lighthouse only gives awards for non wetsuit depending on temp but does not separate finishers in the results. If you aren't winning an award, this favors the wetsuit wearer in my opinion.
This is all off the original topic. If you look to come back East again, you may want to reconsider the Potomac Swim. It is a great, challenging, point to point swim.
Just to clarify. There are two different Potomac swims. One is 3K and the other is 7.5 miles. I am referring to the 7.5 miler.