WEST Open Water Swimming

Tim Senholtz

Hello WEST,

 

Thank you for your patience. Our coaching staff has been receiving questions regarding the option of open water swimming from some of our swimmers and other members. While we are eager to hop back into training in any capacity we can, we are also prioritizing safety when exploring these options. 

 

We have two goals with these structured and supervised open water swims. First, we want to empower our athletes to embrace a capacity of our sport that is not usually explored with competitive swimming at the club level. We want to make sure that the swimmers learn the basics of open water training and the advantages / disadvantages of this training environment. Through these trainings, we hope that our swimmers can take these skills and apply them to small group training on their own with other swimmers.

 

Second, we want to ensure that any participating swimmers are safe. We are not making these open water swims mandatory by any means, or requiring that families go out to buy wetsuits - but more to encourage our kids to think outside of the box when it comes to exercising and embracing any and all opportunities available to them. Any swimmers that want to and can participate MUST be in Challenge or above and MUST have a wetsuit. Water temperatures are still warming up and a wetsuit that is 3mm or more is recommended. These open water swims are optional for these team swimmers.

 

Parent Considerations

Blue Seventy has a 20% off code for us WCA2019, however, they are having a sale right now and it may not work in conjunction with the sale. They’re headquartered in Shoreline, and WEST recommends contacting them directly for information on buying / sizing as they are a great resource when exploring open water swimming. Blue Seventy sometimes have discount suits available as well.  

 

  1. More thickness equals more warmth. 1mm will retain less heat than a 2mm or 3 mm

  2. Swimmers can wear rash guards for additional warmth of body and arms while maintaining mobility. (if their wetsuit is not a full body, but it also creates more drag.)

  3. Surf suits tend to be cheaper than tri suits .  Why?  Tri suits tend to have more paneling like competitive tech suits to support swimming streamline and speed.  More binding and glue means that the suit is more expensive.

  4. Surf suits focus more on mobility and don’t require as many panels. 

 

Coach Margaret has compiled a list of other alternative suits that can be found on SwimOutlet:

Stohlquist Men's 3MM Rapid Front Zip Long John Paddle Wetsuit

O'Neill Men's 2MM Reactor II Sleeveless Front Zip Long John

Body Glove 2MM Heritage Back Zip Long John Wetsuit

Level Six Men's Farmer John Front Zip Long John Neoprene Wetsuit

Level Six Women's Farmer Jane Front Zip Long Jane Neoprene Wetsuit

Billabong Women's Salty Jane Sleeveless Fullsuit

Stohlquist Women's 3MM Rapid Front Zip Long Jane Paddle Wetsuit

Rip Curl Women's 1.5mm G-Bomb Chest Zip Long Jane Wetsuit

TYR Women's Hurricane Cat 1 Sleeveless Triathlon Wetsuit

TYR Men's Category 1 Sleeveless Wetsuit

 

Organization

We will be meeting at Martha Lake on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:00pm beginning June 1st. A kayak with a coach will depart every 30 minutes with a group of 4 swimmers, maximum. Swims will last about 45 minutes, with a 15 minute buffer to allow for social distancing. 

 

Senior swimmers, please aim to swim at the 12:00 or 1:00 time slot. Accelerate or Challenge, please plan to swim at the 12:30 or 1:30 time slots.

 

For our time slot sign up, click here.

 

A waiver will also be posted and need to be read and signed prior to joining in activity.

 

WEST Open Water Swimming Guidelines

The government advises to not gather with more than 5 people outside your household in a week, so if you attend an open water swim, limit interactions with others that week.

 

Do not come to open water swims if you feel ill, or have been in contact with somebody who had COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive in the last 14 days. 

 

When athletes arrive at the lake a coach will ask if they have been sick in the last 14 days, and if they have any symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms include mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough and difficulty breathing, or other symptoms identified by the CDC. 

 

We will keep a roster of all who participates in the open water swims, including swimmers and coaching staff.

 

Rules While at Lake:

  • Stay 6 feet apart from others at all times.

  • Parents will remain in their cars and drop swimmers off. 

  • Swimmers will come in their suits and leave in their suits - no changing at the lake. 

  • If athletes/coaches who begin to cough/sneeze for any reason, must move away from others until coughing/ sneezing dissipates.

  • Arrive as close as possible to when your swim begins, and leave immediately following. 

  • No sharing equipment including water bottles. 

  • Avoid touching gates, benches etc.

  • Do not touch your face.

  • Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before coming to swim, and when you leave.

 

For any questions, please contact Coach Tim at [email protected]

 

Best,

WEST Coaching Staff