Race Director Checklist

SpacemanspiffSpacemanspiff Dallas, TexasSenior Member
North Texas is seriously lacking any OWS events. I'm only aware of one event (every June) and the "long" event is a 3K. So I've been noodling with the idea of hosting an event. But I want to get some sort of an idea about what I'd be committing to. Would anyone be willing to share a checklist or "how to" guide?

Also, I have a venue in mind (beautiful, clear, cool lake surrounded by 80 ft. bluffs) but it has some limitations: (1) it is 2 hours from DFW airport and (2) the nearest inexpensive hotels are a 40-minute drive (several $250-$300/night resorts closer). Is this a deal breaker?

"Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
Have brought be down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."

Comments

  • are there camping options close by?

    I would drive 40 min. for a cheaper hotel--most of us probably drive that much in a commute to work!
  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member
    Possum Kingdom?
    And yes, if you are able to put one on, it'd be great! We could use something around here closer than Conroe.
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    I did one in North TX some years ago. It was a 4K in Little Elm, TX, put on by some triathletes. It was nice.

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

  • SpacemanspiffSpacemanspiff Dallas, TexasSenior Member
    @flystorms yes! Are you from this neck of the woods? I was thinking "PK10K" has a nice ring to it, unless I can find some creative way to incorporate "Hell's Gate". I'd like to stage some sort of test swim with 2-3 others from my masters group sometime over the next several months. You're welcome to join us if you're interested.

    @swimdaily yes. Lots of camping alternatives nearby. The nicest is a large state park about a mile from what I envision as the swim venue. But that's one mile as the crow flies (or as the swimmer swims, as it were). It's about a 10 mile drive.

    "Lights go out and I can't be saved
    Tides that I tried to swim against
    Have brought be down upon my knees
    Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."

  • SydneDSydneD Senior Member
    Please excuse my ignorance but what part of Texas are you talking about? My in-laws are further South, I assume, as they are in San Antonio.
  • SalishSeaSalishSea Nanaimo, BC CanadaMember
    Ok so here is my check list . It is pretty rough so please don't mind the formatting and spelling.

    RD Check List - Dropbox Link

    I would like to say I did everything on the list for my race back in August but... I missed a few things and my race was small enough that I didn't need it by the end. I will also admit that I cobbled this list together from what I could find on the internet - most of the lists out there were for running races.

    Let me know if there is anything you would add or delete because I am all about improving the Race Director experience. A couple of big things that hit me right away was that it took a lot longer to write the safety plan than I thought. So please feel free to use mine as a template and modify it as required.

    www.viendurance.net - Nanaimo Ocean Swim Safety Plan 2014 V1.1

    As for your direct questions the 2hr drive for me would not be a deal breaker depending on what the start time is and I would lean toward camping over $300 a night in a hotel.

    If you have any more questions or you just want to bounce some ideas around feel free to contact me.

    SpacemanspiffSilkyShark
  • KNicholasKNicholas ArizonaCharter Member
    I found SalishSea's checklist very helpful so thank you. One of the elements of open water swimming that I underestimated at first for the SCAR Swim was the social aspect of swimmers and paddlers having ample opportunity to get to know one and other. There are many things to think about for Event Directors but one of the long lasting impressions for swimmers after an event are the friendships.

    (1) Swim in Waves: A change I'm making is swimming in waves (slower then faster swimmers) so that at the finish the group is more compact instead of hours between the fastest and slowest. This requires some knowledge about the swimmer beforehand so they can be in the proper wave. The entry is no longer a "registration" for the swim but an "application." The Application process became a necessity because of the limited space for swimmers (25-30).

    (2) Swimmer Responsible for Crew: Another significant change is asking the swimmer to name their paddler and information about their paddler at the time of applying for the swim. It is a tremendous amount of stress to find 30 paddlers over the course of 4 days to insure that each swimmer has a paddler (Event Director responsible for recruiting 120 paddlers is insane). It places a big burden on the swimmers traveling from out of the country so I plan to have a volunteer pool of possible paddlers available for swimmers to contact. The more a Event Director can assist in finding local crew seems to increase the ability of international swimmers to attend the event.

    (3) Awards: I've been torn on handing out awards because I've found the real joy of an open water swim is internal. The medal goes from the neck and into the drawer is my thought. A race without awards may seem anti-climatic and to be honest, I agree. SCAR has a finisher list with names and times and ranking but no medal to hang around one's neck. One of the reasons was to cut down on the expense of hosting the event. Contemplating one SCAR trophy large enough to engrave names on it to reflect swimmers success - still a work in progress. Perhaps this is the difference between a race and a challenge which infers more of an internal goal.
  • SpacemanspiffSpacemanspiff Dallas, TexasSenior Member
    @SalishSea That is awesome and generous. Thank you. Was the safety plan just for prudence sake or was it required for insurance/permits?

    @SydneD Possum Kingdom Lake (PK) is about 4.5 hours north of San Antonio, 1.5 hours west of Ft. Worth. There used to be (are?) swims at Canyon Lake (see @flystorms comment) and it's just outside of San Antonio.

    Here are some pictures of PK:

    PK's famous Hell's Gate (we used to jump off of this 75ft monster when I was a kid. But after several fatalities, they banned jumping):
    EF0S0OFSOX10.jpg

    Except for professionals. In 2014, Red Bull held a cliff diving event at PK:
    P02NTMTAD0E6.jpg

    In 2011, a massive fire ravaged the area:
    LY7W8FF54CRW.jpg

    Here's my present vision for the course. The entry/exit boat ramps just a 100 yards apart on land, but 10K apart by water:
    5TFD3IWHXFTX.jpg

    "Lights go out and I can't be saved
    Tides that I tried to swim against
    Have brought be down upon my knees
    Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."

  • SalishSeaSalishSea Nanaimo, BC CanadaMember
    @Spacemanspiff - You're welcome, and the Safety Package was for the insurance company and the Harbour Authority. They wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing and I could do it safely. In the end I was glad I did it because I was able to work out a lot of the logistics in my mind, get it on paper so everyone involved knew what was going on. I have a bunch of things to add to it for next year.

    @KNicholas - I totally agree in making the swimmers provide their own kayak support person. I even went as far as giving them a discount if they provided their own kayak - one less for me to rent.

    As for medals, personally I like them. I have a wind chime made of them in my back yard. But I would agree if you can get a big ass trophy for the race and have all the names on I think it would be way cooler, and incentive for people to come back and see their names. Mmmmmm... might do that myself.

  • SydneDSydneD Senior Member
    I confess that I'm a sucker for a medal. For me, I have them on the wall at my pool and it encourages me and helps me to remember that all those indoor yards are for a reason.
  • SydneDSydneD Senior Member
    One more comment---I also highly encourage any race director to honor and acknowledge all of those kayakers. It's the rare race that even mentions them and I know that for me, when I race, my husband and I are a team. He kayaks for me on all of my swims and I couldn't do it without his support, his strength when the kayak conditions are treacherous, and his dedication. He and the other kayakers deserve acknowledgement, or at least a t-shirt. :)
  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member
    @SpacemanSpiff - wow that looks like a perfect venue. How's the accessability by car/kayak? And yes, I'd love to join. My email is my handle plus yahoo.com Keep me in the loop, please? - Kari
  • SpacemanspiffSpacemanspiff Dallas, TexasSenior Member
    @flystorms car/kayak is easy. both the start and finish are at a boat ramps with a large parking lots. Even though the course is technically a point to point (which I strongly prefer), it is practically a loop in the sense that the start and finish are only separated by a 100 yard strip of land. So the ramps are right across the street from one another, even though they are separated by 11K of water. No need for shuttles!

    However, if we don't get some rain, motorized boats would have to put in several miles away and drive to the start. PK is nearly 20 feet low right now and nearly all boat ramps are dry.

    "Lights go out and I can't be saved
    Tides that I tried to swim against
    Have brought be down upon my knees
    Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."

  • SpacemanspiffSpacemanspiff Dallas, TexasSenior Member
    @knicholas @niek @sydned here is an idea for awards. I already buy these things in bulk, with an imitation leather base, embossed with my firm logo on it for $8.00 each. I send them to clients with a miniaturized color copy of their results. For those who don't like awards, the frame is still attractive (and the race logo would still on the base for all to see).
    RK5J3ZHEFIPA.jpg

    "Lights go out and I can't be saved
    Tides that I tried to swim against
    Have brought be down upon my knees
    Oh I beg, I beg and plead..."

  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    KNicholas wrote: »
    (3) Awards: I've been torn on handing out awards because I've found the real joy of an open water swim is internal. The medal goes from the neck and into the drawer is my thought. A race without awards may seem anti-climatic and to be honest, I agree. SCAR has a finisher list with names and times and ranking but no medal to hang around one's neck. One of the reasons was to cut down on the expense of hosting the event. Contemplating one SCAR trophy large enough to engrave names on it to reflect swimmers success - still a work in progress. Perhaps this is the difference between a race and a challenge which infers more of an internal goal.

    I'm happy with a t-shirt and my name somewhere on a website. And the swim, more than anything else.
    SydneD wrote: »
    One more comment---I also highly encourage any race director to honor and acknowledge all of those kayakers. It's the rare race that even mentions them and I know that for me, when I race, my husband and I are a team.

    Swim the Suck is awesome at this. My uncle kayaked for me and he got everything I did, to include a piece of artwork and t-shirt and meals on both days. It was wonderful to see how much Karah and her crew welcomed him (and all the kayakers) as part of the team. My uncle still asks when I'm doing StS again!

    With respect to finding our own kayaker, that's fair. Hell, I've never been an RD so I can't judge how hard it is. I would just offer a few words:
    a) It is very difficult for those coming a long way to your event. Especially if the person is coming from overseas. I think international participation is wonderful in these events; It is one of the reasons I love our sport. I would just encourage RDs to offer help to those coming from afar in procurring a kayaker. I have been turned off by some events I've looked at (mostly overseas) when they say I must provide my own support crew without any indication that they'll help me find someone (and no answers to my emails enquiring about it). I will pay extra for that, and I'm sure others will.
    b) Have you guys tried finding Scout troops or Explorers (I think they're called Venturers now) who might be able to paddle? Many of those guys/gals need volunteer hours and most (if not all) of them are trained in First Aid, some even might be lifeguard trained. Just thinking outside the box.
    c) You might consider reaching out to local triathlete groups, your local outdoor store (REI?), for volunteers. I'm sure you've already thought of this. Finally, if you've got a military base near you, a lot of those guys/gals love to volunteer. And some of them might have boats, or their MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) office on base might have boats.

    Just some thoughts.
    SpacemanspiffKNicholas

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

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