Open water swimmers and triathletes cannot take their mobile devices with them in the water, but all that information that they can access on their smart phones might be cool to have – at times – in the water.
Information such as water temperature, wind speed and direction, weather forecasts, SpotTracker information, Facebook updates from family and friends, Twitter feeds might be good to know during a training swim or marathon swim.
Sure a swimmer can get much of the same information via a whiteboard message from their crew, but swimmers often have a number of things going through their heads in a haphazard manner. Sometimes, they want the information at a glance.
If the smart watches that are now coming into the market are waterproof and Bluetooth-enabled, then the data and information can theoretically be wirelessly downloaded from a nearby iPhone or Android phone. Then the smart watch on the swimmer’s wrist could display notifications, messages, data, and updates of their choosing with a simple glance of their small LCD screen.
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.