Introducing the LongSwims Database

evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
edited April 2020 in General Discussion

LongSwimsDB aims to compile a structured, accurate, and comprehensive history of the sport of marathon swimming.

https://longswims.com

From Capt. Webb's pioneering crossing, to the mind-blowing endurance feats of Sarah Thomas, to the blazing speed of the professional circuits, to the numerous local Masters 10K's popping up around the world -- the goal is for everything to be available in a consistent, quality-controlled format.

I linked the project from the main MSF homepage just over a year ago, after I'd finished importing the O7 swims. It has since grown to over 35,000 individual swims and nearly 200 "events" (sanctioned solo swims and organized races), plus dozens of independent routes that meet minimal documentation standards.

I haven't promoted it much because I'm still working out some kinks in the technology and wanted to feel confident in the validity, accuracy, and presentation of the data.

There is still much to be done, but I think it's good enough for general consumption at this point. Some of you have discovered it on your own, and a few event organizers have started using it to vet swimmers' backgrounds. Steve M is probably the most avid user, and has been using it to update/correct openwaterpedia profiles.

There are two primary "views" into the database:

Swimmers and events are also searchable from the homepage.

I also recently launched an "Insights" portal - where I will be adding various analyses and graphs to understand the sport at a deeper level, and explore questions that could only be answered by a formally designed relational database (as opposed to wikis, or books, or even spreadsheets). One of my favorites so far is a simple graph of women's participation in the sport over the past 40 years.

The project is currently sponsored by New York Open Water, and thanks to Rondi, David, and Alex for their support.

Anyway, I'm putting this thread here as a landing spot for any questions or discussion about the project.

Enjoy, and thanks for the interest.

Tagged:
IronMikeChrisgreeneKatieBunkiparizGlobalSwimmerJustSwimslknightmamillerJaimieJayJSwimgrappledunkswimrn62DanSimonelliKate_AlexanderKarenTthelittlemerwookiecurlyKarl_Kingerygregocdavid_barraJanetCathyInCAStephenAlex_Arevaloj9swimbatcheswendyv34Copelj26rlmLaraArgentChefKennooravalkonen

Comments

  • KatieBunKatieBun CornwallSenior Member

    Bravo, @Evan. Congratulations on a phenomenal piece of work and on having the patience of a saint. I've been reading it for months and am constantly amazed by people's achievements. It's a hugely useful database. Thank you.

    evmokiparizJaimieJSwimIronMikeAlex_Arevalorlm
  • JustSwimJustSwim Senior Member

    I love this database and use it all the time. Plus it makes entering events so much simpler having most of the major marathon swims there. Sadly not all the NYC Swim data is available through no fault of Evan's.

    evmoJaimieCopelj26rlm
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited February 2018

    JustSwim said:
    Sadly not all the NYC Swim data is available through no fault of Evan's.

    Yes, taking down all the NYC Swim data was Morty's final, parting "gift" to the swim community. Thanks Morty.

    Copelj26
  • JaimieJaimie NYCMem​ber

    So cool, thank you so much @evmo !

    evmoKarl_Kingeryrlm
  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member

    Great work Evan.
    Count on our continued support!

    evmoKarenTDanSimonellij9swimAlex_Arevalorlm

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • CathyInCACathyInCA Martinez, CASenior Member

    WOW! Honored to be on the database at all. You're a genius @evmo

    rlm
  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber
    edited February 2019

    I would like to find swimmers from certain countries in Asia because, due to geographical and climate reasons, they can provide more valuable experience for my training than swimmers from Europe or the U.S. Is it possible to search the database by which country the swimmer is from?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited February 2019

    @miklcct said:
    Is it possible to search the database by which country the swimmer is from?

    No, but I'll add it as a potential feature for the future.

    Copelj26IronMikeSara_WolfcurlyrlmMvG
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited June 2019

    A small milestone... the database just passed 50,000 swims (by 20,022 individuals along 949 distinct routes).

    I also launched a page listing course records of various major swim routes:
    https://longswims.com/course-records/

    This page is automatically generated and will automatically update when records are broken.

    thelittlemerwookiekejoycerlmssthomasPasqualeIronMikeCopelj26Kate_AlexanderMvGStephen
  • emkhowleyemkhowley Boston, MACharter Member

    @evmo said:
    A small milestone... the database just passed 50,000 swims (by 20,022 individuals along 949 distinct routes).

    I also launched a page listing course records of various major swim routes:
    https://longswims.com/course-records/

    This page is automatically generated and will automatically update when records are broken.

    Wow, Evan--this is fantastic! Thank you so much for putting this together. As a swim history researcher, I am deeply grateful for all your efforts in this area. Makes my life so much easier when I'm looking to verify information.

    ssthomasevmoKatieBunMvGStLucia_Channel

    Stop me if you've heard this one...
    A grasshopper walks into a bar...
    https://elainekhowley.com/

  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member
    edited June 2019

    This is fantastic; thanks for pulling all this info together. It looks like the Caribbean is missing - St Croix and St Lucia crossings; Barbados and St John circumnavigations, etc

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited June 2019

    @flystorms said: It looks like the Caribbean is missing - St Croix and St Lucia crossings; Barbados and St John circumnavigations, etc

    Thanks for the feedback. Quoting from the page, "Not every possible course record is listed."

    • St Lucia Channel has been done twice (maybe 3x? and for the first we don't have an elapsed time)
    • Around Barbados has been done once
    • Around St John has been done once

    These are all amazing swims, but I'm not sure how meaningful it is to talk about "course records" for swims that have only been done once or twice. So, I made the editorial decision to not list them.

    • St Croix - not sure which swim you're referring to
    BogdanZStLucia_Channel
  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member

    @evmo Makes sense, sorry I missed the disclaimer.

  • EllisEllis Baltimore, MarylandMember

    Question on the data base. I appear in the data base as a finisher on 4 swims (Boston Light, Lido Key, Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay), but a profile has not been developed. Is this because:
    1. One of the swims (Great Chesapeake Bay Swim) was less than 10K, or
    2. I just need to be patient, these things take time
    The data base is a wonderful initiative, thanks for making the effort to develop it. I look forward to being listed with "the big kids" with my own profile.

    flystormsMvGSwimalison
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited February 2020

    Ellis,

    Thanks for the kind words and for your interest in the database. In your case it was option #1 (Chesapeake Bay is less than 10km). Happy to over-ride that for you, though:

    https://longswims.com/p/ellis-merschoff/

    cheers

    KatieBunflystormsKate_AlexanderssthomasrlmcurlySwimalisonthelittlemerwookie
  • EllisEllis Baltimore, MarylandMember

    Wow, thanks. I'm swimming the Lake George 10K in August, which will give me four legit swims. Thanks for believing in me.

    KatieBunIronMikeKate_Alexanderssthomasrlmevmocurlythelittlemerwookie
  • StLucia_ChannelStLucia_Channel Saint Lucia Member

    Thanks very much for adding St Lucia to the database. We're glad to have the Caribbean represented and hope to see more swims "popping up" in the near future.

    rlm
  • andissandiss Senior Member

    How do you add a swim to this db? New swim in West Cork Ireland, the Galley Head swim took place last weekend in July 2019. Frank Hallisey swam sans wetsuit

    https://www.galleyheadswim.com/

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin

    If an event includes both wetsuits & skin swimmers, they must be clearly distinguished in the results.

    lakesprayIronMikeStLucia_Channel
  • lakespraylakespray Senior Member
    edited August 2019

    @evmo said:
    If an event includes both wetsuits & skin swimmers, they must be clearly distinguished in the results.

    I did the Great Moose Migration swim near Boise, Idaho in 2016. It was an 11-mile swim across Lucky Peak Reservoir. It was a fun low key swim, sadly they've been on hiatus the last two years. It was low key in there were no awards or prizes etc., but he did publish the results. I remember telling the event promoter it was important to MSF type swimmers when publishing the results to indicate wetsuit or no wetsuit, but he did not break them out, oh well, it was a nice training swim.

    IronMike
  • Hi ow friends
    Whot about Lake Zurich 2019?
    Why 81km swim in Murshidabat WB India is not in DB?
    All the best

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited February 2020

    Whot about Lake Zurich 2019?

    Please be patient. That was less than a week ago.


    Why 81km swim in Murshidabat WB India is not in DB?

    https://longswims.com/events/murshidabad-national-open-water-swimming-competition/

    Copelj26BogdanZIronMikeKarenTrlm
  • Regarding Zurich, do you have a time frame? I noticed numerous (later) august swims that have already been entered. I'd like to provide the updated list for an upcoming swim registration if possible.

  • RobertWashingtonRobertWashington TorontoNew Member

    Love to see all this data you collected @evmo

    StLucia_ChannelevmorlmthelittlemerwookieDanSimonelli
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited September 2019

    Thanks for the kind words @RobertWashington

    To answer @Sean's question:

    Regarding Zurich, do you have a time frame?

    Yes. Regarding anything with the database (not just Zurich), the timeframe is: when I have the chance.

    I noticed numerous (later) august swims that have already been entered.

    New results are added based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to chronological order.

    SeanrlmthelittlemerwookieDanSimonelli
  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber

    Does the database include triathlon races which the swim is at least 10 km without assistance?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited February 2020

    @miklcct said:
    Does the database include triathlon races which the swim is at least 10 km without assistance?

    If there is such a thing as a triathlon with a 10km+ swim leg, non-wetsuit or at least with skin swimmers listed separately, please send the results. Is there such an event?

    DanSimonellislknightthelittlemerwookie
  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber

    @evmo said:

    @miklcct said:
    Does the database include triathlon races which the swim is at least 10 km without assistance?

    If there is such a thing as a triathlon with a 10km+ swim leg, non-wetsuit or at least with skin swimmers listed separately, please send the results. Is there such an event?

    If there is one I will WANT to do it. It nearly happened in 2018 when the water temperature of Isoman triathlon was near to the cut-off, but unfortunately it didn't happen.

  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber

    I have a concern about the "distance" listed in the database of cross-channel swims. By definition, the "distance" is the shortest straight-line distance between the land masses separated by the channel, e.g. 16.7 km for Strait of Juan de Fuca.

    According the same definition, shouldn't be distance of North Channel crossing defined at 20 km rather than 35 km, by connecting a straight line between Torr Head and Mull of Kintyre?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited March 2020

    @miklcct said: shouldn't be distance of North Channel crossing defined at 20 km rather than 35 km, by connecting a straight line between Torr Head and Mull of Kintyre?

    The Mull of Kintyre route (Dál Riata Channel) is 40 miles/65 km north of the more common North Channel route, with colder water and stronger currents. The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association considers it a distinct swim route, and I agree with this view.

    KatieBunIronMike
  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber
    edited March 2020

    @evmo said:

    @miklcct said: shouldn't be distance of North Channel crossing defined at 20 km rather than 35 km, by connecting a straight line between Torr Head and Mull of Kintyre?

    The Mull of Kintyre route (Dál Riata Channel) is 40 miles/65 km north of the more common North Channel route, with colder water and stronger currents. The Irish Long Distance Swimming Association considers it a distinct swim route, and I agree with this view.

    Applying the same reasoning, the MSABC considers a traditional Port Angeles - Victoria 30 km crossing a distinct swim route (https://msabc.ca/open-water-swimming.html), which is about 12 km east of the newly-established 16.7 km Strait of Juan de Fuca route currently sanctioned by NOWSA. Shouldn't we update the database to reflect this as well?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited April 2021

    @miklcct said: Applying the same reasoning, the MSABC considers a traditional Port Angeles - Victoria 30 km crossing a distinct swim route (https://msabc.ca/open-water-swimming.html)

    MSABC is a pool swimming organization that accepts open water swim claims via email without independent observation. This is not a sufficient level of rigor for the database. It would be like if Southern California Masters Swimming started accepting email claims of Catalina Channel swims.

    NOWSA recognizes the general channel crossing between Washington state and Vancouver Island, without distinguishing multiple routes - similar to the "general route" across the English Channel and many other channel crossings around the world. If you would like to discuss NOWSA's policies, please contact NOWSA's board members, Andrew Malinak @malinaka, Wendy Van De Sompele @wendyv34, Melissa Nordquist, Melissa Kegler, and Scott Lautman.

    LakeBaggerthelittlemerwookieSoloKatieBunCopelj26IronMikeDanSimonelligregoc
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