Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Coach Shelley Taylor-Smith describes the instances and circumstances of impeding and unsportsmanlike conduct at the FINA events and Olympic 10K Marathon Swims. Impeding can lead to either a yellow card or red card, while unsportsmanlike conduct more leans towards a red card or disqualification. Copyright ©
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The open water swimming community understands the importance of rules in mass open water swimming competitions. No one wants unfair competition or unsportsmanlike conduct to be prevalent - let alone exist - in the sport. While inadvertent physicality exists, especially around the turn buoys and at the
We asked professional marathon swimmer Lexie Kelly from Long Beach, California a series of "What if?" questions. Here are her answers: Daily News of Open Water Swimming: What if you saw a shark underneath you at an ocean swim? What would you do? Lexie Kelly: I would get out immediately and probably have trouble getting back in the ocean for a while. I
Recently, we heard of a large man who intentionally hit a younger boy during an open water race. According to the swimmers, the larger man lifted his hand above the water and purposefully smacked the smaller boy on the back of his head. When the boy emerged from the water, he had a large lump on the back of his head and asked a simple question. “Why?
Scenario: It is a close and competitive race where two athletes are racing into the feeding station. They are swimming side-by-side and their two feeders are also standing side-by-side on the feeding station. Situation: The outside swimmer veers the inside person against the feeding station. The inside swimmer puts out his hand out to protect himself.
As in surfing, short track speed skating, boating and car racing, open water swimming has generally accepted etiquette and rules governing impeding, obstruction and overtaking another competitor. However, understanding and officiating these rules varies from race to race, from referee to referee, and from country to country. What is legal in one race or in
