Race Rules & Penalties

motivate99motivate99 Member
edited September 2014 in General Discussion
Swam MIMS 4 Person relay yesterday - a blast, and a great day in the water...but during the last mile before the finish, a team we had passed long before in the Harlem River swung out past the race course / safety line, caught the swifter current out in the Hudson River, and their swimmer passed both the team behind us & our swimmer.

When this guy swung back into the course, as we neared the finish, our swimmer almost caught him - closing a 200+ yard gap in under 5 minutes and finishing about 12 seconds behind him. So obviously our swimmer was quite a bit faster then theirs.

Having been pushed back throughout the day by the race officials from reaching the faster water - which we were fine with, as the Hudson was very busy & we understood that we needed to stay within the required distance in case we had to pull into shore for cruise ships pulling out, weather related halts, etc - it was pretty galling to see this display.

And since this was a wet suited swimmer on a Catch-Em relay - it totally confirmed my worst feelings about combining skinned & real OW Swimmers, but my question is - has this happened to you, what was the outcome, and what do people feel is a fair way of dealing with this type of misbehavior?

Comments

  • lakespraylakespray Senior Member
    edited September 2014
    Sounds like two separate issues here wet suits as the orange and safety rules as the apple.

    My understanding of he NYC Swim relay rules is they separate the results from the Catch-Em relay (wet suits allowed) in a separate category then the traditionally attired swimmers. Which category was your team in? Personally I'm no wet suit guy but if your team was in the Catch-Em category then no excuse on the wet suit because your team mate could have worn one as well. If your team was in the traditionally attired, then who cares, as your teams results are against those who swam as you did.

    The swimming outside of the safety zone is a separate issue. Again depending how much the competitive results matter to your team I would have suggested the following at that time.

    1. When it was observed make a official protest to the observer/official on your boat.
    2. It seems almost everyone's phone with video recording: A. If possible video record the swimmer going outside of the safety zone B. record your protest to the observer
    3. Declare to your observer you plan to make an official protest at race end.
    4. Make an official protest immediately at race end.

    If this was not done at the time of race or immediate thereafter I'm guessing your just going to have to live with the results but you still had a great day on the water
    :)
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    @motivate99, I had an issue like this in a 2-mile race a few years ago. Another swimmer not only swam by me at the end with a pull buoy btwn his legs, but he also cut the last buoy, got in front of me, and ran up the beach, pull buoy in hand. Sadly, when I compared results to his number, turned out he was in my age group.

    No one at the finish did sh!t about his equipment. Meanwhile, I went back into the water to cool down and talk with a nice young man (25-30-ish) about the race. He finished about 10 minutes ahead of us. Then he screamed to his mother on the beach to bring his leg. He stood up on his one leg and hopped to the beach.

    And this other jacka$$ needs a pull buoy to make it through 2 miles.

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

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