Long Distance Swimming – July 2020 1

I hope that you all continue to be well during this challenging time!  This is a report on the current status of Long Distance swimming in Oregon and in the nation in 2020.

USMS Open Water Championship Swims:

• Five of the six USMS Open Water National Championships have been canceled.
• One USMS Open Water National Championships, the One-Mile Swim in Santa Barbara, CA, has been tentatively rescheduled from a June date to August 29.
• The annual USMS Long Distance All-Star Team compiling has been canceled for this year.

Oregon LMSC Open Water swims:

• Four of the seven Oregon Open Water swims have been canceled.
• The swim at Eel Lake, now scheduled for Saturday, August 8, may be cancelled because the State Parks Department is not yet allowing group events in these parks; without a permit, SOMA cannot run this event as scheduled.  Stay tuned for updates.
• The swims at Lake of the Woods are still scheduled for Saturday, September 12.
• The Beautiful Lake Juniper swim at JSFC in Bend, originally scheduled for Sunday, May 17, has been put on hold to be hosted in September or October if possible.  Stay tuned.

USMS Postal Championship swims:

• Our own SOMA team is hosting the USMS 5 & 10-km Postal Championships this year.  It’s a fundraiser, so please support them if you can!
• The USMS Long Distance Committee, realizing that access to 50-meter pools might be challenging, will allow these events to be completed in short course pools.  Individual results from short course swims will not count for the championship results, but will count towards the annual five-swim national Postal Participation Award.  Details will be available on the USMS website shortly.
• The season for swimming the 5 & 10-km events has been extended two weeks, to Wednesday, September 30.  I hope that this helps!
• Matt Miller is still negotiating with Amazon Pool in Eugene to offer a special opportunity for 10-km swims (and 5-km swims if room is available) later this summer.  I will also try to secure a date in Bend in August or September for these swims.  Stay tuned for updates.
• OMS will continue to offer our annual three-swim Postal Participation Challenge this year, so be sure to stay in the game by doing one or both of these postal swims this summer.

Other open water opportunities:

• Swim in your usual favorite local open water spots.  Warmer weather means warmer water.  Go to it!
• Participate in an open water virtual swim or virtual swim series.  These are similar to postal swims in that you do the swims on your own, then enter online.  Check the event information about requirements and reporting; most of them require using a dedicated swim watch—like Apple, Garmin, etc.—that some of us already use.  I’ve chosen the 2020 Grand Slam event hosted by my friend Mark Johnston; see https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=2303&smid=13415.
• Go adventure swimming by trying some Oregon lakes where you have never gone before.  Several years ago, I discovered that Ralph Mohr and several others had been identifying suitable Oregon Lakes in the Atlas of Oregon Lakes (https://www.pdx.edu/center-for-lakes-and-reservoirs/atlas-of-oregon-lakes), going to them for a swim, and logging their “conquests”.  Set your own standard for a successful swim; I have chosen a 15-minute minimum in-water swim time and allow wetsuits (mostly to extend the swimming season).  Go to it.  I’d love to hear of your adventures!

Good luck and good swimming!