The TDF has nothing on the swimmers now! Imagine the coverage! But wait! Could watching this be a little like watching submarine races?
Industry News: American Swimming Association Announces Open Water Swimming Stage Race – July 17, 2007
AUSTIN, Texas, July 17. THE American Swimming Association (ASA) announced an open water swimming stage race called The Highland Lakes Challenge. The event will take place from Oct. 24-28, 2007.
The Highland Lakes Challenge will consist of races in five consecutive days in five lakes: Buchanan, Inks, LBJ, Marble Falls, and Travis, all lakes formed by dams in the Colorado River.
Swimmers will opt to compete in one of four stage races: 1. The Highland Lakes Monster Challenge - a 5-day race of distances ranging between 2.6 and 4.0 miles per day. 2. The Highland Lakes Mini Challenge - a 5-day race of distances of either a half mile or a mile per day 3. The Weekend Warrior Monster Challenge - a 3-day race of distances ranging between 2.6 and 3.5 miles per day 4. The Weekend Warrior Mini Challenge - a 3-day race of distances of either a half-mile or a mile per day.
Places in each stage race will be determined by swimmers’ aggregate times. Swimmers may also participate in single-day stages of either Monster Challenge or Mini Challenge distances.
Who is the American Swimming Association (ASA)? Last time I checked, USA Swimming was the national governing body.
This event is the same week as the US OW Olympic Trials. I think all the serious swimmers will be at that one in Ft. Myers instead.
No prize money?
I think stage races are great. It would be nice to see something comparable in swimming or triathlon, but I don’t think this quite the serious event I’d like to see.
Oh yeah, this looks like a fun thing to do. Don’t get me wrong. And i am sure the top level group of swimmers out there in the USA will be somewhere else. But for the rest of us crazy people there’s this stage race. IMO it is cool that there is a race like this offered. Where else do they do this? 5 days of 4 mile swimming races? Hmmm… that’s a hell of a lot of swimming. Serious yet fun?
This would be cooler if it was more like the tour with TT’s, team events etc. Could do the same thing with running. Distance, track, team etc.
I’ve often though about trying to put together a local stage race that coincided with the finish of the TdF. Something like a TT Friday night, long “Mountain” (Illinois Mountains) stage on Saturday and Either a Team TT or something else on Sunday. After every event have someplace to get together and watch that days stage of the Tour.
The only thought I had about a stage race (or a different kind of workout) that involved a lot of swimming would be racing bikes to the different area pools. Living in Southern California there’s an awful lot of pools relatively close. Just imagine racing on your bike to 4 pools that are realtively close, interupting that ride by swimming a 1,000 meters (or yards) in each pool. The bike distances would vary but the swims would remain the same. Add up your time and you got a winner.
Just a thought. I am sure there others ideas out there.