newly formed Swim Ireland National Open Water Committee

Zuppy

The newly formed Swim Ireland National Open Water Committee was ratified at a Swim Ireland board meeting last weekend with a remit for the promotion and development of open water swimming in Ireland.



At the inaugural meeting the following were elected:



Chairperson: Ned Denison

Secretary/Communications: Martin Cullen

Water Safety Officer: Trevor Woods



The initial short term committee priorities are:



1. Create a 5 year development plan for open water swimming in Ireland whether competitive, participative or recreational



2. Promote, communicate with and recruit new swimmers, clubs and events. Open links with triathlon clubs to establish mutual benefits.



3. The Water Safety Officer will nominate the open water swims to be insured by Swim Ireland (and Swim Ulster) by 1 March. The organisers of these events will then supply their safety plans two weeks prior to the event and a short summation not later than two weeks after the event. Any organiser of an open water swimming event not previously insured by these bodies may contact the committee for possible inclusion on the 2009 list.



4. Establish a system, which includes National Open Water Championships (at 5km and 10km distances), to allow top Irish swimmers to compete internationally. We will endeavour to ensure the participation of Irish Open Water swimmers in the 2012 Olympics, in London.



The committee's actions and policies will be available, in the future, on the Swim Ireland (Open Water tab) website. Please contact the committee, or the Swim Ireland office directly to provide input, suggestions and feedback on current or future issues.



The fact that Open Water swims at 5k & 10k are now a recognised as Olympic and World Championship events is tremendous for our sport and the formation of this committee will hopefully contribute to its further success in Ireland.



With the abundance of sea, lake and river swims already in situ we will endeavour to be as inclusive as possible.



Our aim is to encourage safe open water swimming for all.

Zuppy

Sorry, forgot to say I posted this as informational, I have nothing to do with this committee.

hunnymonster

I missed this. Great move imo.

DonalB

Hey (Niall???),
I'm looking forward to seeing in person Owen O'K. swim 10k in London, even if he doesn't know it yet. We'll all do the best we can to support him.

db

Zuppy

Yip its me, only come here when bored :-)

jamesbrady

Is anyone else in a club? Are there clubs?

Zuppy

It depends where you are in the country. For example in Cork the Open water swimming is sort of independant of the clubs even if the Cork masters plays a big role. I am not a member of any club.

Not sure how it works in the rest of the country

agua bendita

The newly formed Swim Ireland National Open Water Committee, with a remit for the promotion and development of Open Water Swimming in Ireland met for the first time in January 2009. At the inaugural meeting, the following were elected:
1. Create a 5 year development plan for open water swimming in Ireland whether competitive, participative or recreational

2. Promote, communicate with and recruit new swimmers, clubs and events. Open links with triathlon clubs to establish mutual benefits.

3. The Water Safety Officer will nominate the open water swims to be insured by Swim Ireland (and Swim Ulster) by 1 March. The organisers of these events will then supply their safety plans two weeks prior to the event and a short summation not later than two weeks after the event. Any organiser of an open water swimming event not previously insured by these bodies may contact the committee for possible inclusion on the 2009 list.
4. Establish a system, which includes National Open Water Championships (at 5km and 10km distances), to allow top Irish swimmers to compete internationally. We will endeavour to ensure the participation of Irish Open Water swimmers in the 2012 Olympics, in London.





agua bendita

Zuppy

Like the signature. :-)