Swimmingly Suited For The Open Water

USA Swimming issued a notification on the swimsuits allowable in open water swimming competitions, including the upcoming USA Swimming National Open Water Swimming Championships in Long Beach, California.

FINA updated its list of swimsuits approved for competition that included swimsuits approved for open water competition. The full list of approved suits can be found on the FINA website and USA Swimming websites. Approved swimsuits specific to open water are below:

TYR, Tracer Light OW, pants, men
TYR, Tracer Light OW, full-body, women
Mizuno, WATER GENE / OW RC, pants, men
Mizuno, WATER GENE / OW OB, full-body, women
Mizuno, ACCEL SUITS / OW, RC, pants, men
Mizuno, ACCEL SUITS / OW, OB, full-body, women
Descente, NUX-W ARN-OPW01W, full-body, women
Descente, NUX-W ARN-OPW02W, full-body, women
Descente, NUX-W ARN-OPW03M, full-body, men
Descente, NUX-W ARN-OPW04M, pants, men

The FINA-approve open water swimsuits are also approved by USA Swimming for its open water competitions including the 2010 National Open Water Swimming Championships and National Team Trials. Swimsuits approved for open water competition only will have the words 'OWS only' on the FINA label.

Copyright © 2010 by Open Water Source

The Olympic Road To London Begins In Long Beach

When USA Swimming decided to host its National Open Water Swimming Championships, it decided to select a location that is similar to what the athletes might expect in the Serpentine in Hyde Park for the 2012 London Olympics.

USA Swimming seems to be right on the money in its selection of Long Beach.

Yesterday at mid-day in both Long Beach and London, USA Swimming's representatives separately checked the water temperature in Marine Stadium in Long Beach and the Serpentine in London.

Remarkably, the water temperature was within 1°F of each other and the water conditions were exactly the same.

The water temperature in the Serpentine 16.5°C (62°F) while the water temperature in Marine Stadium was 63.6°F (17.5°C) with more good California sunshine gradually warming up on the horizon.

Copyright © 2010 by Open Water Source