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.

WEEKLY WRAP UP

For those of you that couldn't follow along daily, here's a recap of some of the major news affecting USA Swimming Athletes over the past week:

Make a Splash Receives USOC Honors

Logos on Swimwear

Athlete Partnership Agreement Still in the Works

USOC Olympic Assembly

USOC Safe Training Environments Efforts

USA Swimming Launches Athlete Protection Page

Success for US at Open Water World Cup

Jessica Hardy Tops Rankings in Brazil

Swimming vs. Winter Games Sports

Sometimes I feel spoiled when I explain our sport to others. It's so straight forward. You're not judged on the design of your suit, the path of your stroke, or the amount of water you displace. You may do things to alter anyone of those aspects in training and in race preparation, but once the race starts its simple - touch the wall first without cheating and you win. Swimming typically avoids headlines like the ones dispatched from the recent Vancouver Games - Nodar Kumaritashvili, 21 year old Georgian Luge Slider Dies in Practice Run , and Dutch Speed Skating Coach costs Sven Kramer Gold. And our sport knows that it at the end of a race two athletes (or two teams) are tied, they both equally deserve the medal they were fighting for.

But how protected are we from some of the headlines from this past winter Games? How different is an organizing committee building a track an unsafe 5% (up to 15 mph) faster than any other track used in international competition, and an organizing committee ignoring the issue of water quality on open water courses leading to athletes being exposed to unknown toxins for nearly two hours and as a result having ongoing health issues for the rest of their lives. USA Olympian and AEC member, Kalyn Keller, feels strongly about this topic. If inherent risk is avoidable, isn't it the responsibility of FINA (and furthermore, USA Swimming) to do something about it?