Jim Anderson is one of those unsung individuals who makes the world of open water swimming go round and round. Toiling for months on end, he is one of those quiet, unheralded race director whose daily responsibilities seem to never end. He spends innumerable hours applying for city permits, talking with lifeguards, surveying the race course, pleading for sponsor support, coordinating volunteers, marketing and promoting races on Oahu.

Besides being a stalwart as a race director for the Waikiki Roughwater Swim and North Shore Swim Series, he also founded the Hawaiian Christmas Looong Distance Invitational Rough-H2O Swim and organized the first FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships that were held in Honolulu in 2000.

“When I started Looong Distance Swim 30 years ago, 7 km was considered a long distance. Had the Olympic 10 km distance been actively promoted in 1970, it most likely would have been 10 km or longer. The name has remained but the distance is not such a big deal these days,” the California native explained.

The member of the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame also organized the 1999 USA Swimming 25 km National Open Water Swimming Championships and the 1991 and 1992 USA Swimming National 10K Open Water Swimming Championships.

He was also the founder and president of the Hawaiian Christmas Channels Swim Associationand author and publisher of the Hawaii Sports Calendar.

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