Do you have to swim the official MIMS to get the Triple Crown?

AzotterAzotter Member
edited June 2015 in General Discussion
From what I understand, the triple crown in ows is English Channel, Catalina Channel, and around Manhattan. Is MIMS the only acceptable swim for this; or any swim that you go around Manhattan? If MIMS is the only acceptable one, has there ever been plans to accept other swims, or have other sanctioned full swims around Manhattan so that it may be included?
Tagged:

Comments

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    NYC SWIM is the sanctioning body for MIMS

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    Yea Dave, but can a swimmer plan a swim and get an observer from NYC Swim and do their own MIMS? I think that's what he's asking.

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    The circumnavigation of manhattan is a complicated undertaking. It might sound like a good idea on paper....

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • Yes Iron Mike,
    One day a year seems so restrictive if someone were trying to accomplish this. I know, I know, but that is the sport/challenge of OW swimming. LOL. Sometimes I think it's about making it as hard on the person as possible and the last thing taken into consideration is the actual swim. ;)
    Sharon
  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    edited June 2013
    Azotter wrote:
    Sometimes I think it's about making it as hard on the person as possible and the last thing taken into consideration is the actual swim. ;)
    Sharon

    In response to the increased demand, last year the size of the field was nearly doubled to 40 swimmers. The event went off like clockwork... which is a double edged sword....
    You often are able to collect more useful data from from failures and mistakes than glowing successes.

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    @david_barra, I'm not sure I'd categorise 2012 as entirely clockwork. Boats were only allocated the day beforehand, the Friday briefing was a disaster and we were held at the start (which was later) in full blazing sun for 40 minutes with no shade or water (I cramped immediately I entered the water). The problem of allocating boats at the last minute particularly, since there was nothing like Hurricane Sandy, seemed indicative of a problem.

    I was directly asked by a committee member to NOT mention any of these publicly though I covered them later on my blog.

    loneswimmer.com

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    edited June 2013
    [url][/url]
    @david_barra, I'm not sure I'd categorise 2012 as entirely clockwork.

    2012 = 46 in : 46 official finish times! Maybe my standards are lower than yours.....

    I admit that my perspective is limited to event day, showtime starts with boat loading and ends when the last swimmer exits the water for me.

    Historically, there have always been enough extra boats to compensate for a couple of no-shows. I don’t see assigning them the day before as an issue.

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    edited June 2013
    In a perfect world, kayakers, boat observers, and support boats would be assigned minimally a week before the event and then all have individual webinar/conference calls (ideally with skype features) to discuss all the ins/outs and familiarize with one another so that it was not an on the spot introduction (perhaps this human element would also deter some of the boat pilots from not showing up as they already have a general idea of the participant, crew, and all others involved)...perhaps this is the wave of the future?!?!

    (note: I understand accidents happen where mechanical failures or family emergencies come into play, and this is totally acceptable. This is why I agree with DB's comment above that you have a few extra boats in the waiting.)
  • bobswimsbobswims Santa Barbara CACharter Member
    It's my opinion that the 2012 MIMS was well run. Sure their were delays, but considering the complexity of the race I did not think it was excessive.

    However, the Friday pre-race meeting was a catastrophe. While no one can control the rain, an indoor venue where the briefing could be heard should have been in place. Neither I nor my crew could hear a word. I ended up swimming in place for 20 minutes shortly after I entered the Hudson. I have always wondered if there was any mention of the possibility and how to get around it in the meeting. In addition my wife who was following my GPS was completely baffled. Apparently I was swimming 7 mph in parts of the East River :-) so she thought I'd stopped swimming altogether. I was also disappointed by the after swim award events. With the chairs jammed together so tight you had to climb over them to get out, I wasn't able to talk to many of the people I had hoped to connect with. Wasn't there wasn't any better place nearby?

    One final complaint. I thought the race organizers had the water temperature set too high in the Harlem in 2012. From what I've heard, they never turned on the heater this year.
  • loneswimmerloneswimmer IrelandCharter Member
    I agree generally @bobswims, @David-Barra & @jcmalick. I was trying to say it wasn't entirely perfect and from our perspective (the three Irish who travelled) lessons could have been learned.

    The swim itself went fine, (apart the start, which I'll continue to maintain was badly handled). But it may have been that we, unused as we are to such heat, suffered unduely, not unlike some of the swimmers that suffered this year in what we'd consider warm water. But it seemed (and still does) unnecessary and I've made the comparison that you wouldn't keep swimmers standing around in the cold.

    I agree about the 2012 dinner, it was uncomfortable & I didn't get to meet many people I wanted to such as @bobswims! Luckily I'd met @david_barra and @jcmalick earlier at BB. Maybe @bobswims will swing by Ireland on his way to/from the EC? I owe you a pint, at least.

    I think like many other pursuits, the further you travel the more easily you can be discomfited when things are working as you expect. Having come across the pond, it was very disconcerting to still not a a boat allocated 24 hours beforehand. Overall I loved MIMS 2012, recommended it widely. It was tough and the memories that are so different to any other swimming experience I've had are treasured. I'm just giving another perspective and I think it's important that we are honest about the totality of experience. No organisation is perfect and all can improve.

    loneswimmer.com

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    IMHO, it should be the actual MIMS race since that's been the historical standard.

  • ttriventtriven Senior Member

    Not everyone can do the MIMS race day now, since the race has been changed to only include faster swimmers. Slower swimmers go off on different days. Historically, slower swimmers have been able to participate in the race days. So the historical standard has changed.
    Who is in charge of the triple crown? That would be the governing body to ask, but I don't know if there is a governing body?

  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited June 2015

    ttriven said:
    Who is in charge of the triple crown? That would be the governing body to ask, but I don't know if there is a governing body?

    The "Triple Crown" is an informal bucket list challenge that took on a life of its own.

    Technically, the "governing body" is:

    • Channel Swimming Association -- 16.66666% (approximately)
    • Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation -- 16.66666% (approximately)
    • Catalina Channel Swimming Federation -- 33.333333%
    • NYC Swim -- 33.3333333%
  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    ttriven said:
    Not everyone can do the MIMS race day now, since the race has been changed to only include faster swimmers. Slower swimmers go off on different days. Historically, slower swimmers have been able to participate in the race days. So the historical standard has changed.
    Who is in charge of the triple crown? That would be the governing body to ask, but I don't know if there is a governing body?

    With the additional dates to do the swim I would think that those who want to will have a chance to do it.

    My politically incorrect answer to that question is "too bad". That's the way it's been and it should remain as such.

  • david_barradavid_barra NYCharter Member
    edited June 2015

    swimmer25k said:
    My politically incorrect answer to that question is "too bad". That's the way it's been and it should remain as such.

    Times they are a changin'.... And it has nothing to do with being politically correct. It has to do with access.

    suziedods

    ...anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    The Triple Crown is a recent invention, and it just that.. and invention.
    I actually think that 8 Bridges should be part of the TC. It's much harder.(the problem with that is that would be 3 US based events) The whole TC is odd, two US based swims? As someone once said.. 'everyone's English Channel" is different." One persons "EC" might be to swim a mile in a lake, or to swim in cold water."
    We all have our own challenges..and to reach for something that challenges us is sometimes enough. Plus there is the expense of all of this. If we are talking about access.... that's a huge barrier for alot of people. As to "that's how it's been done historically". We should all be swimming in woolen suits and be covered in sheep grease" Times change.

    wendyv34gregochelengOnceaRunnerKatieBunmolly1205IronMikeflystormsDanSimonelli
  • NoelFigartNoelFigart Lebanon, NHSenior Member
    edited June 2015

    LOL. I was in the lake training the other day and reverting to breaststroke quite a bit. I was imagining someone giving me crap about it and giving a retort about it being good enough for Capt. Webb, then my mind went to how much I'd dislike training in a wool bathing suit!

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    Times change for sure, but I'd like to see the numbers of those who have tried without success to find themselves not being a part of one of the legs due to a decision made by a sanctioning body. (Run on sentence?)

    As far as I know, MIMS is the only group event in which there could/would be a limit to the number of entries. The others are up to the swimmer. I planned my EC swim over the phone and email starting about a year out.

    To paraphrase Tom Hanks in "A League of Their Own", "It's the hard that makes it so great".

    If you've got what it takes to make it; I have a hard time believing that you can't get it done. If you mean a lack of access due to financial constraints; I don't have an answer for anyone. I did my swims by packing people into rooms, cheap flights and selling blood plasma

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member

    NoelFigart said:
    ... Capt. Perry...

    Capt Webb?

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

  • NoelFigartNoelFigart Lebanon, NHSenior Member
    edited June 2015

    Webb.. I meant Webb...

    Perry was a US Commodore, I know. My brain is a junk yard.

    suziedodsIronMike
  • HelbeHelbe Senior Member

    Hmmm, wonder where I stand now?

    david_barraKNicholas
  • JustSwimJustSwim Senior Member

    You are a Triple Crown swimmer...no doubt about it.

    suziedodsHelbe
  • suziedodssuziedods Mem​ber

    The other issue with MIMS being part of a TC is that it is the only swim that is dependent on the organizer to get the boat and the only one that has an application process ( not to say the EC shouldn't or that CC does not have some sort of filtering process). EC is limited by the short swimming season, CC by the fact that there are only two boats , all by the cost. Yes, if you want to do it,( any swim financially ) you can find a way, theoretically speaking. A swim should not be limited by speed, look at Jackie Cobell for the EC, look at me FFS and Catalina ( 18.5 hrs). MIMS is limited by speed and by the control the organized has over boats. It's just an odd selection for being part of a made up "crown'. I don't have the answer as to what SHOULD be the 3rd 'jewel" but I do think we can look to other venues besides the US for the 3rd "jewel". MIMS is iconic, no doubt, just as Alcatraz and the Hellespont and the Serpentine and Round Jersey and Corryvreckan and the list goes on.

    gregocDanSimonelliKatieBun
  • JenAJenA Charter Member
    edited June 2015

    Lake Ontario can be a fiendishly difficult swim (anyone fancy encountering a 13oC (21oF) drop in water temperature for the final hours of their 52km swim due to upswelling?). In addition to being once being the longest swim in the world, it's also a lake, which is nice for variety. :)

  • swimmer25kswimmer25k Charter Member

    suziedods said:
    The other issue with MIMS being part of a TC is that it is the only swim that is dependent on the organizer to get the boat and the only one that has an application process ( not to say the EC shouldn't or that CC does not have some sort of filtering process). EC is limited by the short swimming season, CC by the fact that there are only two boats , all by the cost. Yes, if you want to do it,( any swim financially ) you can find a way, theoretically speaking. A swim should not be limited by speed, look at Jackie Cobell for the EC, look at me FFS and Catalina ( 18.5 hrs). MIMS is limited by speed and by the control the organized has over boats. It's just an odd selection for being part of a made up "crown'. I don't have the answer as to what SHOULD be the 3rd 'jewel" but I do think we can look to other venues besides the US for the 3rd "jewel". MIMS is iconic, no doubt, just as Alcatraz and the Hellespont and the Serpentine and Round Jersey and Corryvreckan and the list goes on.

    Add the Cook Strait into the equation and call it the "Grand Slam". I have dibs on the copyright.

    gregocJenADanSimonelli
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member

    swimmer25k said:
    Add the Cook Strait into the equation and call it the "Grand Slam". I have dibs on the copyright.

    I started a thread oh so long ago about different groupings. Perhaps the Grand Slam could be added!

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

Sign In or Register to comment.