Watch Where Open Water Swimming Will Go
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
Wearable electronic devices that transmit information to the swimmer beyond the time of day and elapsed time are considered to be performance-enhancing equipment by the rules of the Marathon Swimmers Federation because these types of nonstandard equipment benefits the swimmer’s speed, buoyancy, heat retention, or endurance.
But even if these marathon swims cannot be considered unassisted by the Marathon Swimmers Federation, we can imagine at least some open water swimmers in the future may eventually want to wear the next-generation versions of the Apple Watch in the open water.
While the new Apple Watch that will soon go on sale is splash and water resistant, it is not waterproof. While the newest hot product from Apple can be used during exercise, in the rain, in the shower, and while washing your hands, submerging the Apple Watch in water is not recommended.
Currently, the new Apple Watch has a water resistance rating of IPX7 under IEC standard 60529. IPX7 means that the Apple Watch will be able to withstand immersion in water up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. In real terms, this limitation nixes the idea of wearing the watch for channel swims, marathon swims and competitive races…for now.
But imagine with a truly waterproof Apple Watch, sometime in the future out in the open water, you could…
…figure out how far you have swum…
…know your course and direction…
…receive Facebook messages…
…read tweets while in the water…
…respond to emails…
…make telephone calls…
…tap your watch to acknowledge messages sent from family, friends and fans…
…keep track of your heart rate…
Now that would be really cool.
Imagine being able to communicate with people onshore during a channel swim…imagine being able to get inspired by good luck wishes posted on the social media…imagine knowing how far you have swum and how far you have to go…with nearly pinpoint accuracy…
It will increasingly become a different world out from shore in the future. Watch for it.
Copyright © 2008 – 2015 by World Open Water Swimming Association
