Posted in: Events

Sea What We Are Creating

6.Mar.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

Dan Martin who will set off this April on his Global Triathlon by swimming from New York to France, has to mitigate risks in a variety of ways.

Including, evidently, running into trash.

And lots and lots of it.

Sea Education Association oceanographer Kara Lavender Law, the Chief Scientist on many educational voyages in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, revealed the discovery of a 1600K garbage patch in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at the American Geophysical Union’s 2010 Ocean Sciences meeting this February.


Kara reported that billions of pieces of plastic trash have accumulated in a massive garbage patch in the Atlantic Ocean, similar to the the growing plastic vortex in the Pacific Ocean and, similarly, posing health risks to fish, seabirds and marine animals.

The debris can circulate for years, accumulating as the result of ocean currents.

Student researchers with the Sea Education Association discovered the makeup of the patch, made up of mostly very tiny pieces of trash that came from consumer product litter either blown off open landfills or directly disposed of in the ocean.

Saving The Man in the Gray Suit

6.Mar.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

Of all the athletic communities around the world besides surfers, divers, there is probably no other community that has a greater apprehension about fish than open water swimmers.

Fish (aka sharks, The Man in the Gray Suit, Mack, Old Toothy, Garbage Can of the Sea or The Landlord) is a term not lightly used on marathon swims in many of the world's 5 oceans.

However, there is an important vote and campaign underway to help protect these creatures. As Doug Woodring, race director for the The Clean Half 15K Extreme Relay pleads, "Please help the sharks. They have no vote, but you do. We only have two weeks to get the word out before the CITES vote in Doha."

"Please help us to show the world that we care about sharks. On March 13th, in Doha, the UNEP Cites committee will meet to vote to put eight sharks on the CITES endangered species list. They might not think anyone is watching or cares. We want to show them that we do care and that we are watching what happens with their vote. Please place your vote here and spread this far and wide. Sharks have no voice, or no vote. We need to do it for them. This is sponsored and created by the Hong Kong Shark Foundation, located in the heart of the world's global shark fin trade. Let's show the world that we care."

Although open water swimmers view sharks as man-eating predators, sharks are the top ocean predators with a crucial role in the marine food chain. They serve to remove weak and injured animals and to act as a cleanup crew. These activities help regulate species strength and abundance and, as such, play a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.

Watch this Rethink the Shark video here.

Open Water Pursuit

28.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

We have been enjoying the 2010 Vancouver Olympiers on TV and have observed how similar short-track speed skating is to open water racing.

We also observed how tactical the Nordic skiers are and their lessons for competitive open water swimming.

Again last night, we were enthralled by the teamwork, drafting, positioning and pacing of the Olympic team pursuit speed skaters where groups of 3 speed skaters choreographed around the oval ice course with teamwork, precision and grace under tremendously aerobic-taxing conditions.

Open water swimmers will be able to similarly show their teamwork, precision and grace after the 2010 USA Swimming National 5K and 10K Open Water SwimmingChampionships with a unique Team Time Trial Challenge.

While the best young open water swimmers of America and Canada will be competing for spots on their respective national teams in order to represent their countries at the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships in July, others will be able to compete in the new Team Time Trial Challenge.

The Team Time Trial Challenge will take place in Marine Stadium in Long Beach after the USA Swimming National 5K Open Water Swimming Championships on June 6th. Held in a flat-water GPS-marked course with immediate guide buoys, there will be two distances: a short-track 2K course (one full loop of the Marine Stadium course) and a Long-track 4K course (two full loops of the Marine Stadium course).

The Team Time Trial Challenge concept is for teams of swimmers to start and finish together. Swimmers are strongly encouraged to swim together, drafting and pacing off of one another as speed skaters or cyclists do. Swimming together, teams can swim faster than individuals swimming by themselves.

The official time of the team is the time that the last person of the team crosses the finish line. This concept places a premium on optimal drafting, positioning and pacing - three very important skill sets for competitive open water swimmers and triathletes.

The reason for this new concept is because FINA will add a 3-person 5K team time trial relay to its World Swimming Championships schedule beginning in 2011 and to its World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships schedule beginning in 2012. Plus, it is simply fun.

There will be a staggered start where the teams will be start 30 seconds apart. Teams will receive a team number that will be written on the shoulders of each relay member. Teams will start in numerical order (Team #1 first, Team #2 second, etc.). The start order will be randomly selected, so some teams will undoubtedly pass other teams.

In order to encourage participation, there will be several different divisions and categories. Divisions include the Non-wetsuit (i.e., FINA Swimsuit Legal), Wetsuit, Fin, Triathlete, Military and Corporate divisions. Categories include Solo (1 swimmer), Duo (2 swimmers), Trio (3 swimmers) and Quad (4 swimmers).

In order to accommodate individual swimmers who would like to join a team, these individuals can submit their current 1000-yard time with their registration. Swimmers of approximately the same speed will be partnered together.

Pre-race Clinics will be held in Santa Monica in order to help teammates learn how to optimally draft and position themselves during the race. But the innovations will also include up-close-and-personal viewing for interested fans and spectators. Seats on spectator boats along the race course will be available during the USA Swimming National 5K and 10K Open Water Swimming Championships and the Team Time Trial Challenge. 7-time world professional marathon swimming champion Shelley Taylor-Smith     and 2-time world masters open water swimming champion Gerry Rodrigues     will explain the races and are available to answer questions about the sport of open water swimming on these spectator boats.

The rules for this new event include the following:

1. If one swimmer in the team wears a wetsuit or a technical swimsuit not currently approved by FINA, then the entire team will compete in the Wetsuit Division.
2. If one swimmer in the team wears fins, then the entire team will compete in the Fin Division.
3. Relay members in the Triathlon Division may wear any type of wetsuit or technical swimsuit, but no fins.
4. All team swimmers must be currently serve in the military (either active duty or National Guard) in order to compete in the Military Division.
5. All team swimmers must be employees (either full- or part-time) in order to compete in the Corporate Division.

Great Show and Swim

25.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (1) comments

The Great Swim, an open water swimming phenomena in Great Britain, was televised in England and was so good that it is up for a nomination at the Royal Television Society Awards, which takes place this coming Saturday.

Masterful 10K in Morse Reservoir, Indiana

23.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (1) comments

Online registration for the 2010 US Masters Swimming 10K Open Water National Championship is now live. The event will be held on July 17th in Morse Reservoir, Noblesville, Indiana - the same site as the inaugural and highly successful 2008 US Masters Swimming 25K National Championships.

Dick Sidner, Race Director, says, "Both online and paper registrations are available. Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if interested."

45 swimmers from 20 states did the 25K race in Morse Reservoir, Indiana in 2008.

The feedback, from the athletes was outstanding.

"...I have just returned from the Inaugural 25K Open Water Nationals held at the Morse Reservoir outside of Indianapolis this past Saturday. It was an absolutely superbly organized and unforgettable event. The race director, Dick Sidner, went to extremes to make sure that every detail of the experience was just perfect, and he was ably assisted by members of his family, English Channel swimmer and author Marcia Cleveland, and others. The event was held on a well protected part of a very scenic reservoir/lake. Every swimmer who did not come with a kayaker, was provided with one (or more)."

"The 5 x 5K loop was measured with the finest of precision. When a fellow swimmer and I arrived a couple of days early, Dick invited us to his home and took us for a tour of the course in his pontoon boat. For the entire four days we were in town, Dick, his wife Lisa, his mother-in-law, and the other organizers treated us like family. The race was very safe. The field was incredibly strong. The kayakers did a great job.

When I finished the race I hugged Marcia Cleveland, I hugged my kayaker Chris who provided me with so much encouragement, and I wanted to hug everyone else who made this event so memorable - thanks to all of you," wrote Jon Lenchner (shown on left).

Race Director Dick Sidner (shown above) looks forward to another great turnout and competition.

2010 Global Open Water Swimming Symposium & Conference - Additional Speakers

22.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

7-time world professional marathon swimming champion Shelley Taylor-Smith    and TRISLIDE and Foggle inventor Karen Smidt-Allard were added to the 2010 Global Open Water Swimming Symposium and Conference that will kick-off the traditional American summer open water swimming season in exciting fashion this year. The first-time Symposium and Conference will be held in Long Beach, California on June 5th during the USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships.

The lineup of notable speakers include Shelley Taylor-Smith    , channel swimmer Anne Cleveland, the world's fastest swimming pro triathlete John Flanagan, Mr. Open Water Sid Cassidy, FINA Medical Commission member and former USA Swimming national open water swim team physician Dr. Jim Miller, former world masters open water swimming championGerry Rodrigues    , professional endurance multi-sport athlete Megan Melgaard    , TRISLIDE and Foggle inventor Karen Smidt-Allard and a host of international speakers.

Among the numerous presentation, talks at the Symposium and Conference will include:

The History of Open Water Swimming- a pictorial history of open water swimming from 1875 to the present with a colorful description of the key characters, coaches and challenges of the sport and how it has evolved over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and how the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim became part of the triathlon lore.

Preparing Age-Group and College Swimmers for World-class Open Water Competitions and Triathlon Racing- a presentation of the key training aspects, physical, tactical and mental, for achieving success at the national and international levels at the 5K and 10K distances, and the Olympic-distance, Half-Ironman and Ironman triathlons.

Training Triathletes for the Open Water- a presentation with concrete examples of how to take beginner, intermediate and advanced endurance athletes and make them great swimming triathletes.

Professionally Officiating and Colorfully Announcing Open Water Events - a presentation on how rules are adjudicated at the national and international levels and how best to provide entertainment and color during open water events.

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim Course and Triathlon Course at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics - a description of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim and Triathlon courses at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics and how to prepare for these races that will be showcased in front of massive crowds.

Hypothermia and Hyperthermia - a medical explanation of hypothermia and hyperthermia and ways to prevent these conditions from happening and degrading your open water swimming performance.

Women in Open Water Swimming- a description of successful female marathon swimmers of all ages and what drives them to challenge themselves and to succeed against all odds.

The Life of a Professional Marathon Swimmer - an explanation of how professional marathon swimmers train and travel and their lifestyles as they travel around the world to exotic places competing under extraordinary conditions.

The Life of a Professional Triathlete - an explanation of how professional triathletes train and travel and their lifestyles as they travel around the world to exotic places competing under extraordinary conditions.

Nutritional Needs of Open Water Swimmers and Triathletes- a description of the optimal dietary habits of accomplished endurance athletes with a particular focus on professional swimmers, both in the pool and open water, and in the swim leg of a triathlon.

Training and Thinking Like an Olympic Champion - an explanation of how a world record holder and Olympic gold medalist trained himself and pushed himself physically and mentally to the highest echelon of his sport.

The Excitement and Allure of Endurance Sports for Busy People - a description of how fit individuals can find time in their busy lifestyles to train and compete in a plethora of exciting and challenging extreme endurance sports.

Creating a Big-Time Televised Open Water Extravaganza - an overview of how to plan, organize, market and deliver a safe, innovative open water swimming event that attracts pros and newcomers by the tens of thousands.

Rules of Open Water Swimming- a description of the basic rules of competitive open water swimming, from drafting and finish judging to yellow cards and red flags.

How to Become a Certified Open Water Swimming Official - an explanation of how to become an open water swimming official certified by USA Swimming, the governing body of swimming in the USA.

Masters Open Water Swimming- a description of how adults can enjoy the abundance of pool and open water swimming opportunities offered by US Masters Swimming.

How to Successfully Market Products to Triathletes and Open Water Swimmers- a real-life success story of how a mother came up with several clever product ideas and created a highly profitable, globally successful company out of her home

Pool Open Water - a presentation on how to train triathletes and swimmers in the pool in order to teach open water tactics and reach their potential in competitive open water events and triathlons.

The speakers include the following individuals:

John Flanagan is currently the fastest pro triathlon in the water, a 4-year member of the USA Swimming National Open Water Team, the 2001 World Swimming Championship 4th place finisher in the 10K, owner of two of the fastest Ironman swim legs in history, a winner of the Waikiki Roughwater Swim and member of the 1997 NCAA Championship Team from Auburn University.

Shelley Taylor-Smith     was one of the most successful professional marathon swimmers of all time with seven pro titles. An engaging speaker, she has also served as one of the top administrators in the sport and coaches athletes at all levels.

Steven Munatones who created The Daily News of Open Water Swimming, is a 2-time USA Swimming National Open Water champion, an International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame inductee and board member, a FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee member, a 7-time USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Team coach, and the Technical Swimming Delegate for the Special Olympics.

Sid Cassidy, who was the starter at the 2008 Beijing Olympic 10K Marathon Swim, is a former professional marathon swimmer, multiple-time USA Swimming national team coach, the former Chairman of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee, a top age-group swimming coach and a member of the English Channel world record relay (both single and double crossing).

Anne Cleveland is the oldest individual and fastest woman over 30 to complete double-crossing of the English Channel, a solo English Channel and Catalina Channel swimmer with hundreds of open water swims and relays to her credit and a renowned motivational speaker.

Gerry Rodrigues    , a renowned open water swimming and triathlon coach, a World Masters Open Water Swimming champion, a masters swimming world record holder (800-meter freestyle), the former publisher of Swimming World Magazine, a creator of SwimInfo, a US Masters Swimming Coach of the Year and America’s best short-distance ocean swimmer throughout the 1990’s.

Megan Melgaard    , a professional extreme athlete, is an endurance sports filmmaker, a former USA Swimming National Team swimmer with the 'the perfect freestyle stroke', co-founder of Splish, a custom swimsuit manufacturer, owner of SwimMechanics and the Aquatics Director for the Atlanta Triathlon Club.

Jim Miller, M.D. is a FINA Medical Commission member, former president of US Masters Swimming, an 8-time USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Team physician, a renowned speaker on the effects of hypothermia and hyperthermia for open water swimmers, a US Masters Swimming Coach of the Year and Chairman of the US Masters Swimming Sports Medicine Committee.

Genadijus Sokolovas    , Ph.D. is considered to be the world’s top swimming physiologist, an inventor and patent holder of innovative training methodologies and equipment, the Director of Physiology & Director of Sport Science at USA Swimming where he worked closely with all the American swimmers at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, including Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin, Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte and Gary Hall Jr.

Company founder Karen Smidt-Allard who envisioned, invented and markets TRISLIDE, Foggle and Tri-Swim hair care products to the swimming and triathlon worlds.



 

Sharing the Waterways of the World

21.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (2) comments

Competition and camaraderie often go hand-in-hand in the open water.

This weekend, the top Australians and New Zealanders successfully raced together at the 2010 Australian Open Water Swimming Championships where the Australian world championship team was selected.

America and Canada will similarly hold joint selection races at the USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships this June.

These instances of friendly foes sharing the waterways of the world point to the camaraderie and collegiality that are commonly seen in the world of open water swimming.

Photo shows Marine Stadium where the American and Canadian teams will select their world championship representatives.

Magnificent Maritime Challenges in Malta

10.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club, the center for endurance sports in Malta, has an active open water swimming community.

The Birkirkara St. Joseph team swam around the entire Maltese archipelago (excluding the island of Filfla due to Maltese Maritime Law), which lies centrally located in the Mediterranean Sea, 93K south of Sicily.

Keith Bartolo, a local English Channel aspirant, proudly and accurately explains the mild temperate climate, "Our island is small, but it provides excellent open water swimming training grounds during the winter. Our sea temperature goes down to 14°C (57°F). Our seas are beautiful here."

 

The annual Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Challenge offers swimmers the opportunity to swim the short channel between Gozo and Malta.

This year, the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club is stepping up the challenge as more and more foreigners flock to the islands to train. In addition to the 5K one-way race, there will be new 11K two-way crossing from Malta to Gozo and back to Malta on August 21st, the Malta-Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Challenge 2010.

As generous hosts, the Birkirkara St. Joseph Sports Club is offering training sessions and inexpensive accomodations for visitors.

Great open water swimming opportunities for those who wish to swim in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea.

Be Treated Like Royalty in Lisbon

9.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

Lisbon's King and Queen of the Sea Europe offers you a chance to become open water royalty.

Portugal's newest open water swim offers two ocean races: a 1.5K and a 5K on April 25th, held in conjunction with the popular Lisboa Triathlon.

The 5K race is the European qualification race for elite athletes competing for spots in the annual King of the Sea Challenge (Rei do Mar Desafio), held on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro's 2016 Olympic 10K Marathon Swim course. The top male and female finishers in Portugal will represent the continent of Europe and will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the professional 10K King of the Sea Challenge.

The 1.5K race is open to everyone of all ages, abilities, backgrounds and countries. One lucky participation will receive an all-expense-paid trip to compete in the 2K amateur King of the Sea Challenge held in mid-December and in conjunction with the pro 10K race. The free trip will be raffled off on the day of the King and Queen of the Sea Europe in Lisboa.

It is not often that an open water swimmer can be treated like royalty. Now is your chance.

Long Beach, Center of American Open Water Swimming in 2010

8.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

The 2010 USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming 5K and 10K Championships will be the signature event over an exciting week of open water swimming events in Long Beach, California during the first week of June.

Elite athletes as well as age-group swimmers and masters athletes will be in for quite a treat.

Marine Stadium, site of the 1932 Olympic Rowing competition and the 1968 Olympic rowing trials, was recently designated as an official state historic site. The flat-water course is an ideal venue for watching some of the fastest open water swimmers in the world up close and personal. Swimmers from across the USA, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt are expected to compete for a handful of spots at the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships in July in Quebec, Canada

On the women's side, Olympian Chloe Sutton (see photo) will headline a tough field with NCAA champion Emily Bruneman, Eva Fabian and SIU's Kirsten Groome are all expected to battle for the top position.

Each woman has a completely different style of swimming and employ different racing strategies, so fans of the sport will be able to watch swimmers up close and observe who will have the right strategy and closing sprint to represent the USA at the world championships.

On the men's side, everything also appears up for grabs, but recent FINA World Cup victor Fran Crippen has the hot hand now. He has the speed, experience and endurance to be considered the strong favorite.

However, 2009 World Championship silver medalist Andrew Gemmell, Harvard University senior Alex Meyer and a host of young up-and-coming stars from coast-to-coast, as well as the international stars, are going to give Fran, one of the world's best closers, all he can handle.

The up-and-coming stars will be treated to an intensive training camp before the national championships where they will be taught the tricks of the trade. Most of America's international open water swimming stars come from this Open Water Select Camp, so we expect these young swimmers in the mix.

 

The athletes will compete five 2K loops with an in-the-water start and finish (see photo) which will provide great experience for the same expected course and water conditions as the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships and the 2012 London Olympics 10K Marathon Swim to be held in Hyde Park in central London.

The waters of Long Beach are ideal to help the athletes become accustomed to the relatively cool waters of Lac St-Jean at the World Championships and of the Serpentine Lake at the 2012 London Olympics.

After the 5K championships, the organizers are also holding a 1K and 2K races for age-group and masters swimmers and an innovative 3K mixed-gender team time trial race where teams of swimmers will be set off 30 seconds apart. The teams are clocked when the last swimmer finishes the 3K swim, which encourages the team members to properly draft and position themselves for the fastest times.

Additionally, a Global Open Water Swimming Symposium and Conference for elite swimmers, triathletes, channel swimmers, age-group swimmers, masters swimmers, endurance athletes, coaches, parents, officials and administrators will be held concurrently at the host hotel to the championships - the first time such an open water swimming conference will be held. The sport of open water swimming has quietly and steadily grown in size - escaping the eye of the media - and the global demand for the latest information on the techniques, trends and tactics of the sport has now justified a global conference.

With a sport that had 1.4 million participants in the US alone in 2009, and over 3,000 events worldwide, the open water swimming community of vendors, athletes, coaches, administrators and race promoters are now clamoring for information-sharing and networking opportunities. Long Beach will deliver on the demand.

Long Beach was selected as the location for the Global Open Water Swimming Symposium and Conference because so many great open water swimmers have developed in the waters of Southern California or live in the area over the past 50 years including Florence Chadwick, Greta Anderson, Lynne Cox, Penny Lee Dean, Paul Asmuth, Chad Hundeby, Chloe Sutton, Mark Warkentin and many others.

It will certainly be quite a week of open water swimming in Long Beach this coming June.

Jack King Ocean Swim Is Back (A Week)

7.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

A word to the very active Mid-Atlantic and East Coast open water swimming community: Open Water Swimming Virginia bloggers Allison, Caroline and Elizabeth reported that the annual Jack King Ocean Swim in Virginia Beach will be held on June 27th this year, one week later than usual.

The 27th annual Jack King Ocean Swim honors the life of Mount Trashmore YMCA swimmer Jack King which was cut short at the age of 38 due to liver cancer in 1985.

Bucolic, Quirky, Brilliant - Open Water Swimming in Texas

6.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

Dr. Keith Bell, president and inspirational founder of the American Swimming Association, announced the 2010 ASA open water swimming calendar. The ASA open water swims are conducted in the beautiful hill country in and around Austin, Texas as part of Dr. Bell's larger initiative to provide competitive opportunities for the pool and open water swimming community.

National Geographic describes Texas's famed hill country as a bucolic, rumpled terrain marked by wooded canyons cut by spring-fed rivers...a series of colorful towns fit for dawdling...best of all, it's quirky.

If you want to swim in clear streams and rivers running through verdant valleys with brilliant displays of wildflowers in the spring and abundant white-tail deer, Texas-size cattle, goat and sheep ranches amid small towns founded by Europeans in the mid-1800's, then American Swimming Association provides an oasis for open water swimming within the rugged beauty of south-central Texas.

• May 2: The Money Box Cap 2k
• May 2: ASA Open Water Swimming Texas High School State Championships
• TBD: The Great Travis Trek
• October 2: ASA Open Water Swimming Collegiate National Championships
• October 9 — 7th Annual Lake Travis Relay
• October 20-24: 4th Annual Tex Robertson Highland Lakes Challenge
• October 20 — Lake Buchanan Open Water Swim
• October 21 — Tex's Darn Challenge Open Water Swim
• October 22 — Lake LBJ Open Water Swim
• October 23 — Lake Marble Falls Open Water Swim
• October 24 — Lake Travis Open Water Swim
• November 6 — Dam 5k

If you're in the area, don't miss it. If you are not in the area, it is something you may consider.

Fun-filled Festivities Freestyling in Fiji

5.Feb.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

A new series of ocean swim races is set to commence soon featuring some of Fiji’s best beach locations, including Natadola (shown on left), Pacific Harbour, Denarau, Malolo Lailai and Nacula in the Yasawa Islands. Natadola is an idyllic resort well-known by honeymooners and is considered one of the finest beaches in the world.

The Fiji Ocean Swim Series will comprise of six events with distances to suit hardened ocean and open water swimmers as well as younger and novice open water swimmers trying an ocean swim for the first time.

Some of the events will be held over 2 days with distances varying from 1.5K to 3K on the Saturday and a 5K for individuals and teams on the Sunday. Each event will also offer a 0.7K race.

Like many places around the world from England to Brazil, Fiji has seen an increase, over the last few years, in the number of local club and fitness swimmers venturing into the ocean and trying longer open water events and it is expected that the new series will encourage even more people to take to the open water.

The Series kicks off with a two-day event in February at Natadola with 700-meter 2.5K and 5K individual and team races. The Series includes the following races:

February 20 & 21 (700m, 2.5K, 5K) - Yatule Beach Resort Natadola
April 3 & 4 (700m, 2.5K, 5K) - Yatule Beach Resort Natadola
July (700m, 2K) - Pacific Harbor
August (700m, 3K) - Nacula Yasawa Islands
October 30 (Fiji Ocean Swim Festival) - Plantation Resort Malolo Lailai
November 20 (700m, 3K) - Denarau Wellness Week

A truly beautiful setting for a gentle, clear-water open water swim where the competition will undoubtedly heat up later this year.

Watch Professional Marathon Swimmers Race Live Online

30.Jan.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

The professional open water swimming superstars from 19 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, USA and
Venezuela) have gathered in Santos, Brazil to compete in the first FINA 10KM Marathon Swim World Cup race of 2010.

On the 41 women, nine 2008 10K Olympians are entered, including 3 of the top 5 swimmers in Beijing: Larisa Ilchenko, Angela Maurer and Brazil's young Ana Marcela Cunha.

Of the 41 men in the field, there are seven Olympians and a whole lot of hungry, aggressive swimmers ready to make their mark in this London Olympics quadrennial.

The swimmers are expected to start the race on Sunday under sunny, hot and humid weather - 30°C - and may end the race around mid-day under thunderstorms and rain.

The race will be available on Santa Cecilia TV live online starting at 10:00 am Santos, Brazil time on Sunday morning. The men will start at 10 am and the women will start 10 minutes later. Click here and watch live by clicking on the Portuguese ("clique aqui e assista ao vivo").

Enjoy watching the world's fastest marathon open water swimmers live online. We will have our eyes out for Andreina Pinto of Venezuela, Chloe Sutton of the USA, Rachele Bruni and Martina Grimaldi of Italy, Linsy Heister of the Netherlands, Nadine Reichert of Germany, Anna Uvarova of Russia and Swann Oberson of Switzerland. On the men's side, Allan Do Carmo of Brazil, Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece, Simone Ercoli and Luca Ferreti of Italy, Ivan Lopez of Mexico, Evgeny Drattsev of Russia, Chad Ho of South Africa and Fran Crippen of the USA will undoubtedly be making their push towards the end (see triangular course above).

But, as always, we can expect the unexpected in the wild, wild world of open water swimming.

Stay tuned at Santa Cecilia TV.

Open Water Royalty Comes to Portugal

27.Jan.10   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (1) comments

After the first highly successful King of the Sea (Rei Do Mar Desafio) race in Rio de Janiero, the innovative professional and amateur race series is expanding to Portugal with the King and Queen of the Seas (Rei e Rainha do Mar in Portuguese).

It should be an excellent race.

Paulo Passos Leite and the Clube Oriental de Lisboa is organizing the two races in Parque das Nações in Lisbon: a 1.5K swim and the 5K King of the Seas Europe on April 25th. The winners will be invited to the King of the Sea in Rio de Janiero later in the year as the European representative.