OPEN WATER UPDATES continued

The last week has been full of movement in Open Water Swimming on the National and International Level. Since the release recommendations from the USA Swimming Open Water Review Committee three major headlines have been posted with regards to Open Water Safety.

1. USA Swimming BOD votes to Relocate US Nationals to Fort Lauderdale

4/22/2011 - The 2011 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships have been relocated from Fort Myers, Fla., to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 10k race will be held June 10 and the 5k race will remain on June 12. The USA Swimming Board of Directors approved this change in venue.

The change in venue is designed to provide the safest possible environment for the event, and is in keeping with recommendations made by the Open Water Commission, which included the recommendation that races exceeding 5K should not be held in water above 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Because the water temperature in Fort Myers could exceed that temperature, the decision was made to move the event now, rather than potentially having to cancel the race on or near the day.

2. FINA Releases Report

Francis Crippen, a long distance swimmer from the United States of America (USA) passed away during the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup race that took place in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday 23 October 2010.

In order to better understand the circumstances surrounding the tragic accident, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) appointed a Task Force to address all the issues related to the death of open water swimmer Francis Crippen.


3. OPEN WATER GRAND PRIX 2011: Sumidero Canyon Event cancelled

26 April 2011 - Please be informed that the FINA Executive has decided to cancel the Sumidero Canyon Event of the 2011 FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix Series scheduled for May 7, 2011.

This decision has been reached following the recommendation of the FINA Sports Medicine Committee on the water quality in order to ensure the Health and Safety of the FINA open water swimmers.

OPEN WATER UPDATES

Nearly six months after the tragic and untimely death of USA Swimming National Team Member Fran Crippen, steps are being taken Stateside. This week, the USA Swimming Appointed Open Water Commission Releases Recommendations, the Crippen Family (see below) and FINA respond, and USA Swimming announces the hire of an Open Water Program Manager.

Crippen Family Statement:
"The Crippen family is grateful for the time and effort USA Swimming and the USA Swimming's Open Water Swimming Commission put into the development of this report. The Commission's report will help facilitate the development of safer guidelines for open water swimming and aid in assuring athlete's safety moving forward. As a family, we know we can not change the circumstances that led to the tragedy that occurred on October 23rd, but it is our goal to honor Fran and his legacy by looking to the future and advocating for athlete's safety moving forward."

Remembering Fran

On Saturday, October 23rd, USA Swimming National Team Member Fran Crippen passed away during the Open Water World Cup 10k race in the United Arab Emirates. The cause of death remains unknown, however USA Swimming announced today that, regardless of the actions taken by others, they plan to investigate the cause of death in hopes of preventing a tragedy of this nature from happening again.

The following articles express some of the reactions of those who were closest to him, including German Town Academy Coach Richard Shoulberg, Mission Viejo Nadadores Coach Bill Rose, and Sister Maddy Crippen.

As a competitor Fran was a force to be reckoned with, as a National Team Member he had become a veteran leader, as a friend he was a compassionate individual, and as a brother he was a 'hero.' Above all he was Fran.

Fran was more than a National Team Athlete, he was a National Team Advocate. He cared deeply about athlete rights and had an incredible ability to put personal opinion aside and make decisions based on the athletes as a whole. Most recently he was outspoken in favor of the Athletes Partnership Plan during the annual USAS Convention in Dallas, TX.

On Sunday evening during a USA Swimming Athletes Executive Committee (AEC) conference call, Fran was unanimously voted the National Team Vice Chair - a position for which he had accepted the nomination just prior to leaving for the U.A.E. Fran will remain in this position as an honorary member through the end of the term in 2012.

Condolences to the Crippen Family - one of the quintessential families of our sport.

Shift would allow sponsor logos on swimwear

The article below was published in today's issue of the Sports Business Journal. In reference to proposed legislation by the Pro Swimming Task Force. This legislation has been reviewed and supported by the Rules and Regulations Committee and will be voted on in the House of Delegates next month.

By TRIPP MICKLE
Staff writer
Published August 23, 2010 : Page 08

Soccer has corporate logos on jerseys, and NASCAR has them on cars. Soon swimmers could have them on swimsuits.

USA Swimming is considering amending its swimwear rules to allow professional and amateur swimmers to wear two corporate logos on their suits, caps, goggles and other clothing. If the rule is approved by USA Swimming’s board in September, swimmers will be able to wear the logos on their suits and caps for the first time at USA Swimming events.

To date, swimmers have been allowed to wear only the trademark logo of their suit, cap or goggle manufacturer. The new rule would allow them to wear the logo of any corporation provided it is not associated with tobacco, alcohol or pharmaceuticals that contain banned substances. Logos could even conflict with existing USA Swimming partners.

The proposal means that instead of stepping onto the starting block in an unadorned black swimsuit as Amanda Beard did earlier this month at the USA Swimming National Championships, she could step on the block in a suit featuring the logos of one of her existing corporate partners, like Mission Skincare.

The rule change is part of a concerted effort by USA Swimming to provide swimmers and swim clubs with more revenue-generating opportunities, and it would make swimming the latest national governing body to allow corporate logos at what are typically austere Olympic sporting events.

Selling logo space for athletes is already commonplace at Olympic organizations like USA Ski & Snowboard and USA Cycling. Other large national governing bodies like USA Gymnastics and USA Track & Field allow logos at domestic meets.

“It’s the only way to make these smaller sports revenue positive for athletes,” said Trent Staley, an athlete representative at USA Swimming who co-chaired a task force that developed the rule change. “Time will tell how much this really helps, but it could lead to the most revenue expansion for athletes in years.”

Swimmers would be able to wear the logos only at USA Swimming events like the national championships and Grand Prix events. They couldn’t wear logos on suits at events staged by FINA, the international swimming federation, or at the U.S. Olympic trials, unless FINA or the U.S. Olympic Committee allowed it.

USA Swimming executives plan to ask the USOC to consider allowing the logos to be worn at the U.S. Olympic trials before the 2012 London Games.

Even without being able to wear logos at the Olympic trials, athletes and agents expect the rule change to open new sales opportunities. Evan Morgenstein, CEO of Premier Management Group, which represents Dara Torres, Beard and other elite swimmers, said that an established Olympian could sell those logos for as much as six figures a year, while a less established swimmer could draw low- to mid-five figures.

USA Swimming’s proposal to allow athletes to sell logo space follows a recent study by the organization that revealed some of the financial challenges swimmers face, especially now that swimwear companies like Speedo, Nike and Tyr have eliminated or cut back on endorsements.

In an effort to help swimmers fill that lost revenue, USA Swimming not only is proposing an amendment to its rules that would allow swimmers to sport logos, it also is planning to double its monthly stipend for post-graduate athletes from $1,750 to $3,500.

“We saw that finances were going down, yet performances were going up, so we felt we really needed to find a way to support these swimmers,” said Matt Farrell, USA Swimming’s chief marketing officer. “That precipitated this whole thing.”

USA Swimming dropped a proposal that would have tied its stipend increase to a marketing agreement that would require swimmers to make two appearances annually on USA Swimming’s behalf and sign autographs. Agents questioned the proposal, and USA Swimming capitulated to their concerns, deciding to double swimmers’ stipends without any requirements.

“It’s basically just additional funding, which is what it should have been all along,” said Peter Carlisle, the head of Octagon’s Olympic division. “It’s the right decision, and it’s the right decision not to predicate it on turning over rights.”

IRC Updates

Below are a series of updates from the International Relations Committee that may be of interest to you as athletes...

FINA COMMISSION & TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS: The following individuals will represent USA Swimming and/or USAS at the upcoming FINA meetings:

Technical Open Water Swimming Committee - October 18th - Steve Munatones

Coaches Commission - October 23-24th - Mark Schubert

Athletes Commission - October 29-30th - Aaron Peirsol

Technical Swimming Committee - November 12-13th - Carol Zaleski & Dale Neuburger

Sports Medicine Committee - December 5-6th - Dr. Jim Miller

FINA Bureau Meeting - January 15-16 - Dale Neuburger

MUTUAL OF OMAHA DUEL IN THE POOL: The 2009 Duel in the Pool will be held on December 19 & 20 in Manchester, England. The venue for the SCM competition is the Manchester Aquatic Centre which hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games. USA Swimming is sending an A+ team and will be competing against the combined teams of Great Britain, Italy and Germany. German star Paul Biedermann will not be participating due to a prior commitment to compete elsewhere. According to Mike Unger, USA Swimming was intending to compete under the 2010 Swimwear regulations but due to the availability issues this matter remains unresolved at this time. USA Swimming will swim in whatever rules are agreed upon. Our strong preference remains to swim in the new FINA suit rules which are effective in January 2010. The event will be televised in the USA on NBC on Sunday, December 27th from 2-4 pm (ET). More about the 2009 Duel in the Pool at:

http://reachforthewall.com/2009/10/16/suits-and-nations-change-but-usa-vs-europe-on/

ROMA 2009 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RAN AT $14.2 LOSS : According to SwimNews: The Rome 2009 world championships ran at a 9.5 million euro loss, official reports from Italy reveal today. The specific cost to the Italian swimming federation (FIN) and the city of Rome is put at euros 3.6m. The state will pick up the rest of the bill, media reports suggest. http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7270

FINA WORLD CUP EVENTS BEGIN --The 2009 FINA World Cup series began last Friday in Durban. The meet is the first of five meets for the 2009 circuit, and the only meet in October following the cancellation of the circuit's 6th meet that was to be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next weekend. Dates for the 2009 World Cup are:
-October 16+17: Durban, South Africa
-November 6+7: Moscow, Russia
-November 10+11: Stockholm, Sweden
-November 14+15: Berlin, Germany
-November 21+22: Singapore

Further information on the World Cup series can be found on the FINA website at this link:
http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=107&Itemid=541

SABIR MUHAMMED & PETER MARSHALL IN SOUTH AFRICA: US National Team athletes Sabir Muhammed and Peter Marshall conducted swim clinics in South Africa prior to their competition sessions during the October FINA World Cup events in Durban, South Africa.

ATHLETES ELECTED TO THE EUROPEAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE--Croatian swimmer Gordan Kozulj was among the 7 individuals elected to the European Olympic Committees (EOC) Athletes' Commission earlier this month in Moscow. The term for the recent elections is 2009-12.

UK ANTI DOPING AGENCY PROPOSES TO RAID 2010 LONDON OLYMPIC VILLAGE -- UK Anti-Doping agency (UKAD) officials want the right to enter athletes’ accommodation at the London Olympics to search for drugs and the equipment used for banned techniques such as blood boosting. Speaking at last week’s UKAD launch, sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe confirmed that his government is seeking permission from the IOC to allow such raids. Similar tactics used at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics led to the capture and banning of several members of the Austrian skiing team. “We don't want to criminalize athletes, but it would be fair if it was a condition of entry,” Sutcliffe said. UK Sport has handled anti-doping in Britain for the past 20 years, but it also distributes Lottery funding to elite athletes. UKAD – modeled on the Australian and American independent agencies – will be chaired by a former senior police officer, David Kenworthy, with the head of anti-doping at UK Sport, Andy Parkinson, as chief executive.

Approved Swimwear

The list of approved swimwear for next year is out on the FINA website. Check it out as this will be the list that we put into place in the US as well.

In related USA Swimming sponsor news...

October 15, 2009 – Speedo, the world’s leading swimwear brand, has announced that its new generation of performance swimwear inspired by the Speedo LZR Racer suit has been approved by FINA. The range is fully compliant with the new FINA rules that come into effect from January 2010.

The Speedo LZR Racer Elite suit, Speedo LZR Racer Pro suit, and Speedo LZR Racer Comp suit will be phased in to the market from November 2009, January 2010 and mid-2010, respectively, with supply increasing as manufacturing capacity allows.

This is Speedo’s most comprehensive and technically advanced range of performance swimwear to date and caters to every level of competitive swimming.

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