I’ve got a race coming up that looks to be laid out where the fast way to the first buoy is to run ~25 yards down the edge of the beach and dive in. I hope the RD has a course marker off the beach that we must swim around before heading parallel to the beach, but supposing that doesn’t happen, how is this rule generally interpreted and enforced?
4.2 Bottom Contact and Resting. A participant may stand on the bottom or rest by holding an inanimate object such as a buoy, boat, rope or floating object. **Excluding the bottom, a participant shall not use any inanimate object to gain forward progress. **A violation of this section shall result in a variable time penalty, unless the Head Referee in his/her sole discretion determines that (i) the violation was substantial and resulted in an unfair time advantage, or (ii) the violation constituted endangerment under Section 3.4(1).
From memory, in the first year that Ironman Wales took place about 100 people did exactly this. They all ran down the beach then entered the water rather than swimming diagonally away from the shore. Quickest route to the first buoy. As far as I know there were no penalties but then I guess they had strength in numbers. If it was just you doing it then you would kind of stand out!
I think this rule applies to holding on to kayaks and the such. Also, isn’t there a new swim safe objective that puts large platform type things out in the water of IM swims? You are allowed to grab on to rest. You are not allowed to use this as a launching device as you would a wall in a pool.
I don’t interpret this rule as meaning you cannot run down the beach. If that were the case and you were concerned, just run in 1 inch of water and call it the ‘bottom’.
I think it’s called good sportsmanship, spirit of the event. DO you really want to gain an advantage this way? The race is swim-bike-run.
Using a platform to rest a moment is hardly an advantage as the fastest swim always be one that’s non-stop but paced correctly. Running a beach to avoid part of the swim, isn’t the same thing.
When each and every person has the exact same advantage and opportunity, it’s not much of an advantage. Me, personally, I’d just swim. It’s my strength and I find that running on the beach wears me out more so than if I were stroking. However, I’m not going to gripe if someone else does it. Racing is about using your strengths and weaknesses to get to the line as quick as possible. I view the running on the beach part in much the same light as I view running the tangents on the run course.
I have done races with rectangular swim courses that parallel the beach. Obviously the fastest route would be to swim to the beach and then run down to the next turn buoy. Maybe your example isn’t quite the same, but I would say if you’re leaving the “racing line” then you’re at risk for a penalty.
As you laid it out there is no question you are within the rules. I think it is your responsibility to take advantage of the course. If you really don’t feel comfortable, tell the RD about it now so they can fix the problem.
I had a sort of similar experience, basically a carpeted transition path that went 20m out of the way. There was no question in my mind what I was going to do.
The only problem I can see is if you are in an early wave and create this mass “problem.” Although you should know the rules, most people are uncertain and might feel it is unethical in any event. Again you could solve that issue by telling the RD.
From memory, in the first year that Ironman Wales took place about 100 people did exactly this. They all ran down the beach then entered the water rather than swimming diagonally away from the shore. Quickest route to the first buoy. As far as I know there were no penalties but then I guess they had strength in numbers. If it was just you doing it then you would kind of stand out!
I’ve got a race coming up that looks to be laid out where the fast way to the first buoy is to run ~25 yards down the edge of the beach and dive in. I hope the RD has a course marker off the beach that we must swim around before heading parallel to the beach, but supposing that doesn’t happen, how is this rule generally interpreted and enforced?
I did an Oly down in Naples this January where the swim course was basically a triangle starting from the beach. About half the field ran from the start ~100m down the beach before heading for the first buoy.
At Lifetime Miami this year, a decent chunk of the field swam out to the first buoy, allowed the waves to bring them in a bit, then walked/dolphin dived until they were within a couple hundred meters of the finish, then swam out around the final buoy, and then swam in…
If you have a large chunk of the field doing this, enforcement is really tough and, honestly, the RD is probably more concerned with the swim being safe.
If you don’t see a marker buoy just offshore on race morning, talk to the officials or RD. Can be solved by having the first kayaker or lifeguard in at a spot perpendicular to shore, out in waist-deep water, and telling each wave they need to go to the outside of that spot before heading on to the next one. If not discussed before the race, and you or someone else takes the along-the-beach approach, it will be up to the officials (if there are any) or the race director to decide whether to penalize or not.
From memory, in the first year that Ironman Wales took place about 100 people did exactly this. They all ran down the beach then entered the water rather than swimming diagonally away from the shore. Quickest route to the first buoy. As far as I know there were no penalties but then I guess they had strength in numbers. If it was just you doing it then you would kind of stand out!
I have done a triangle type set up swim in a local oly race, and the exact same thing happened. Everyone laughing and giggling like school girls, running parallel to the beach in inch deep water.
It’s not about sportsmanship. It’s about racing. If there is a rule against it, then it’s cheating. If there’s no rule, then there’s no foul. It’s irrelevant if 100 people ran down the beach or if you were the only one. Lots of people run in the water when they hit a shallow spot - not unsportsmanlike. Why would you purposefully swim extra by doing the hypotenuse rather than running to the point of tangency? The sportsmanship argument makes no sense.
Bottom line - if there’s a rule against it, it’s cheating. If there’s no rule against it, it’s smart racing tactics.
Now, what I’d like to see is for USAT to adopt USAS’s open water rule that you are not allowed to run on the bottom.
Sweet video. It doesn’t really show where the turn buoy is, but I imagine the people running to the left did it correctly. The people on the far right were just making their day longer, unnecessarily.
Why would anyone stand vertically to get through a breaking wave? For the life of me, I will never understand why so many people do this!
It’s not about sportsmanship. It’s about racing. If there is a rule against it, then it’s cheating. If there’s no rule, then there’s no foul. It’s irrelevant if 100 people ran down the beach or if you were the only one. Lots of people run in the water when they hit a shallow spot - not unsportsmanlike. Why would you purposefully swim extra by doing the hypotenuse rather than running to the point of tangency? The sportsmanship argument makes no sense.
Bottom line - if there’s a rule against it, it’s cheating. If there’s no rule against it, it’s smart racing tactics.
Now, what I’d like to see is for USAT to adopt USAS’s open water rule that you are not allowed to run on the bottom.
I agree, but as usual, some want to make their rule that fits their opinion.
I always look for the shortest legal path for the swim, bike and run based on how the RD sets up the course. In that wales example, yep, I would have been running down the beach as far as I could.
If you don’t see a marker buoy just offshore on race morning, talk to the officials or RD. Can be solved by having the first kayaker or lifeguard in at a spot perpendicular to shore, out in waist-deep water, and telling each wave they need to go to the outside of that spot before heading on to the next one. If not discussed before the race, and you or someone else takes the along-the-beach approach, it will be up to the officials (if there are any) or the race director to decide whether to penalize or not.
NO, NO, please no!
A race director should NEVER set a course with a kayak, lifeguard or any other non-stationary object as a marker of the course. If you’re going to create a course that eliminates running before the start, there are a lot of good ways to do it:
in water start
set up start line in line (tangent) with first buoy
add an additional buoy or fixed object as the first marker
Again, you can’t be penalized for something if you’re not breaking a rule.
If you don’t see a marker buoy just offshore on race morning, talk to the officials or RD. Can be solved by having the first kayaker or lifeguard in at a spot perpendicular to shore, out in waist-deep water, and telling each wave they need to go to the outside of that spot before heading on to the next one. If not discussed before the race, and you or someone else takes the along-the-beach approach, it will be up to the officials (if there are any) or the race director to decide whether to penalize or not.
NO, NO, please no!
A race director should NEVER set a course with a kayak, lifeguard or any other non-stationary object as a marker of the course. If you’re going to create a course that eliminates running before the start, there are a lot of good ways to do it:
in water start
set up start line in line (tangent) with first buoy
add an additional buoy or fixed object as the first marker
Again, you can’t be penalized for something if you’re not breaking a rule.
Yeah, you can: at Escape from Ft. Delaware the one year I did it, I got DQed for warming up in the water before the race. There was no rule against it on the web site, in the athlete’s guide, during the athlete’s meeting the day before the race, on the ferry over to the island, or while on the island.
If you don’t see a marker buoy just offshore on race morning, talk to the officials or RD. Can be solved by having the first kayaker or lifeguard in at a spot perpendicular to shore, out in waist-deep water, and telling each wave they need to go to the outside of that spot before heading on to the next one. If not discussed before the race, and you or someone else takes the along-the-beach approach, it will be up to the officials (if there are any) or the race director to decide whether to penalize or not.
NO, NO, please no!
A race director should NEVER set a course with a kayak, lifeguard or any other non-stationary object as a marker of the course. If you’re going to create a course that eliminates running before the start, there are a lot of good ways to do it:
in water start
set up start line in line (tangent) with first buoy
add an additional buoy or fixed object as the first marker
Again, you can’t be penalized for something if you’re not breaking a rule.
Yeah, you can: at Escape from Ft. Delaware the one year I did it, I got DQed for warming up in the water before the race. There was no rule against it on the web site, in the athlete’s guide, during the athlete’s meeting the day before the race, on the ferry over to the island, or while on the island.
So, if there was no rule against it, how did the RD justify your DQ?
These situations are entirely the fault of the RD/swim coordinators. When you see one, you know they know nothing about actual OW swimming. It is so easy to avoid, you just have a cone or buoy that you say you cannot go around, if you do you are DQ’ed. But before that, just set up the course so that it makes sense. Like in that video, the start should have been 1/2 mile down the beach, just stupid. And if conditions change race morning, then you can easily put out that cone or buoy to get everyone in the water in the same exact area.
If they say nothing and it is just up to you race morning, then run down the beach and enter the shortest distance. It is not against the rules and would be stupid not to take advantage…