The Liffey Swim

monkey9

I was just wondering if anyone has ever done this? Myself and a couple of friends are thinking of doing it.

I had a quick look into it and it seems you need to be part of a swimming club and swim four races to qualify for it.

What are these swimming clubs like? I wouldn't particuarly be doing these races in a competitive sense, just for fun and i suppose to have goals.

I've never really swam open water, it's only ever in the pool so i suppose i'd need time to adapt ow!

mad m

Yeah Moneky9, you have to swim four races run by SwimIreland in the leinster calender....

Where about's are you situated? I could put you in contact with some clubs if you wanted, the fee can be from 40/60 euro to join a club which gives you the chance to enter these open sea swims.

It can be scary your first time getting into a race and you realise you can't stand up,plus having to navigate and have other swimmers swim over you as they go for position. The races can't go ahead unless there is 3 boats from the civil defense. They will pull you from water if you want or get in trouble.

But its unreal the feeling you get when you have finished a race, its a great buzz to come up to the handicapper and see what position you got.

A couple years back when you seen the handicapper at end of race you shouted your name and you had to wait a couple of days till you seen where you came, but they give you numbers now.

The 4 swims also allow you to enter Dun Laoghaire Swim which is a challenging swim.

For the next couple of weeks i'd get yourself into the sea, just go in for a dip and stay close to shore, it will be cold but it will give you a sense of whats to come,it does get warmer as the months go on.

mad m

Also, all the races are handicapped. Your first few swims they will be weary of you and give you a hard handicap just to see how you do, then it will come down.

But as you said you want to do this as a goal and not competitively. But to be honest you will get hooked believe me and you want to get better as the swims go on. Plus you will have your other swimmers you will get to know and want to beat them in before you.

Its great craic to be honest, plus there is a presentation on afterwards in a pub or yacht club were there are cups plus other prizes to be had...

mad m

Keep forgetting stuff, :rolleyes:

To enter a race its €10, to enter the Liffey or Dun Laoghaire swim its €30. One or two races maybe slightly higher than €10 like the Island swim.

There will be around 33 races this year, but all weather dependent and must have is 3 boats from the Civil Defense.

Races range from 1.5k to over 2k...The Liffey is over 2k while the Dun Laoghaire Harbour swim is 2.5k.

Swimming in the Liffey can be manky, like last year for instance,(year previous to that was fine) loads of leafs and some plastic bottles. I swam through a big thick lumps of leafs, swallowed some water (tasted like tap water) . Last year they push the finish back a bit further than previous years as it used to finish outside the custom house, but last year it finished more or less outside Jurys Inn. But all in all its a great swim. And I couldn't encourage more to take part in it as you will love it.

As usual I've gone on a writing rant and have probably missed out on other important points. But I'm sure the other lads will help you out.

monkey9

Thanks for the feedback, Mad M. I think this is something we're definitely going to look into. To swim the Liffey i'd say is unreal. Just to be going by the famous landmarks.

I might get in contact with the Clontarf Swimming club to sign up.

2old4dacold

just a quick question . . . . are Leinster Open events confined to members of Leinster clubs or will affiliation to any Swim Ireland club suffice?

mad m

2old4dacold wrote: »

will affiliation to any Swim Ireland club suffice?

Afaik that will do. As long as your a member of Swim Ireland through your Club you are sorted.

swimfast

check out www.atlantissc.org they cater for all levels of swimmers theyv national champions down to beginner tri athletes

Granty71

Hi...
Great thread.

I'm mad to get in and compete in some OW swims. Some great advice, Mad M!

Joined a Masters Club very recently in the hopes of connecting with some people to go swimming with. I assume by joining a Masters Club, you are a member of SwimIreland?

Thanks – and see ye out there!
Granty

swimfast

As long as you have paid ur si fees u r a never of swim ireland

kris71

You need to get a competitive license from swim ireland talk to your coach he will get you sorted

Ath36

Quick Question - If you are a member of a traithlon club rather than a swimming club, are you eligible to race in the Liffey Swim etc or does it need to be a swimming club ?

mad m

Ath36 wrote: »

Quick Question - If you are a member of a traithlon club rather than a swimming club, are you eligible to race in the Liffey Swim etc or does it need to be a swimming club ?

You have to be registered with Swim Ireland through your swimming club also you need to qualify for the Liffey doing 4 open sea races in the Swim Leinster Calender.

Do you have a Swim Ireland card?

monkey9

I went to a talk tonight on OW swims, ie the Liffey and the Channel Swim!

It was was a fantastic talk in fairness!!!! Still nervous though!!

2old4dacold

do the 4 qualifying swims need to be completed before the application cut-off date or before the day of the swim?

ie - can you be accepted for entry pending completion of the qualifying swims?

mad m

2old4dacold wrote: »

do the 4 qualifying swims need to be completed before the application cut-off date or before the day of the swim?

ie - can you be accepted for entry pending completion of the qualifying swims?

You qualify for 4 swims up to the date of cut off...So if you have 3 done and on the 12th of August you do the Island swim on the 12th of August you qualify, after the swim you give them your entry form and money....Anything after that you won't be allowed swim in Liffey. But to be honest I'd try and qualify before that because the way the weather can be, if The Island swim was your last swim to qualify and it was cancelled etc....I have 3 done so far so nearly there.:)

Its because they have to organize your handicap, plus hat,plus timing chip (if they are doing it this year) also on the Thursday before race they normally have the collecting of hats and tee-shirts down at the sports center in Ringsend.

Also note its going to be much shorter this year because of the bridge they are building at Eden Quay, they are having the start down near the Customs house down towards the east link...

swimmerniall

Hi MOnkey9 and co - that was probably the talk we did. As a follow on from it, a few of us from Dublin Swimming Club will be in Seapoint tonight Wednesday from 6.30 or so and are bringing out some folks interested in learning about sea races, might be of interest more info on www.dublinswimmingclub.ie (site was having problems but you are welocme to come along) Weather is warm so it shouold be nice. ANother club are having a race tomorrow at nearby Windsurfers so if you aren't into the soccer ye could take a look there.

mad m

Just a word of caution,the Bobby Nolan swim and
The Island swim have been pulled from the calendar. So if your looking to qualify for Liffey before the cut off point I'd get swimming soon. More info at link

link

2old4dacold

Lee Swim this weekend now counts as a qualifier

mad m

2old4dacold wrote: »

Lee Swim this weekend now counts as a qualifier

Good luck with Lee Swim on Saturday 2old4dacold...

slinky2000

Hi guys just a heads up, there are 3 swims this bank holiday weekend so get busy that weekend and you only have to to one more before the cut off date.

swimmer_hoop

Anybody know if the island swim is still going ahead on Sunday despite been removed from the calendar? The other Clontarf swim went ahead regardless. Thanks.

mad m

swimmer_hoop wrote: »

Anybody know if the island swim is still going ahead on Sunday despite been removed from the calendar? The other Clontarf swim went ahead regardless. Thanks.

I heard the Bobby Nolan swim didn't go ahead, I know the person who won the cup last year and he was returning it only to be told to hold onto it for next year.why not give Brian Nolan a ring to see, his number is on the left handside of swim calendar of the Island race...

swimgal

Anyone know know what time the Liffey Swim is starting at on Sat?

mad m

swimgal wrote: »

Anyone know know what time the Liffey Swim is starting at on Sat?

Men's 11:15 & ladies 12:15

secman

Best of luck to all the swimmers, with all the rain forecast for this week, should be a very fast flow on the river for the ladies race. Don't miss the finish ladies, only one chance of getting it right !

Secman

2old4dacold

how did it go?

mad m

2old4dacold wrote: »

how did it go?

Ah went ok, I died a death, blew up to quick. Should know from past experience to go out steady and build up....There was a great flow and if you view results, the A and B swimmers got up plus a few off on a min...The winner was off at B...Delighted for John Pickering to get 5th.

Congrats to Tom Loftus and Clodagh Nolan...

Lovely day for it all the same....Roll on the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Race, now thats a tester....

slinky2000

Yea a great race I thought. Went pretty smoothly and as pointed out there was a great flow.

I had the opposite problem where I didn't go hard enough soon enough and before I knew it the race was over.

I was looking at the results and I'm down as about 90 places better than I actually done, I think my handicap is gonna hurt for the rest of the races!

mad m

slinky2000 wrote: »

I was looking at the results and I'm down as about 90 places better than I actually done, I think my handicap is gonna hurt for the rest of the races!

I was the opposite, got in ahead of a few people but on results I'm down 20 places from them..:D

Bit of a dicky stomach today, couldn't help but swallow a bit of Liffey on Saturday . Unless you got up top ten, then your handicap will be fine..

secman

Delighted to hear John Pickering picked up 5th place, still can't figure out how he swims without goggles ! Hope to see a few faces this weekend at Wicklow, my annual swim at this stage.

Secman

jester1980

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but some great info here which is better than me opening a new one.

So ive been masters swimming for 2 years and am joining a club this week, few questions in relation to open water swimming

1) Looking at the races on the calendar, does each one have an online entry site or do you just rock up on the day and pay fee to race?

2) How long does it take to get your proper hcap, im an ok swimmer but assume ill be given tough hcap and be dead last then ha ha

3) Done a good bit of open water swimming but never without a wetsuit, so what recommendations do people have, start trying to get used to the cold as early as April (silly question I know)

thanks all

Freddio

1) Apart from the Liffey, Harbour, loch Dan and debatably the island, you just present yourself and your money before hand

2) a proper handicap is a very subjective concept. Basic rule of thumb is if you race a lot and give it everything, you will get a return

3) if you've done a lot of open water with a wetsuit then your challenge is psychological. Winter in a wetsuit is colder than summer in skins.

On the topic of the thread, if your aiming for the Liffey, the views are amazing but don't keep your mouth open in awe.

jester1980

Freddio wrote: »

On the topic of the thread, if your aiming for the Liffey, the views are amazing but don't keep your mouth open in awe.

HAHA very good,

Cool good to know, I like the idea of just rocking up and signing on that day.

Yeah its 100 % in the head, I did a lot of open water training in portmarnock last year so will grow a pair and get down there in May to test it out in skins.

Thanks for info

buck65

Jaysus wait til June!

swimming in a river or lake in the summer in skins is pleasant, the sea will always be cold, even in Aug/Sep when at it's warmest it will still only be 15 or 16c. A lake will usually be that in May.

mad m

jester1980 wrote: »

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but some great info here which is better than me opening a new one.

So ive been masters swimming for 2 years and am joining a club this week, few questions in relation to open water swimming

1) Looking at the races on the calendar, does each one have an online entry site or do you just rock up on the day and pay fee to race?

2) How long does it take to get your proper hcap, im an ok swimmer but assume ill be given tough hcap and be dead last then ha ha

3) Done a good bit of open water swimming but never without a wetsuit, so what recommendations do people have, start trying to get used to the cold as early as April (silly question I know)

thanks all

^^ Winner of the 99th Liffey!!!!

mad m

I think it will be announced shortly but you might have to register online before you do any races. You will be allocated a number once you register and this will be YOUR number and once you finish a race you give your number and not your name to person taking it at end of race.

This (your)number will be used for every race during the season. The reason being is some people cant say their name after a race and it will speed up process just to give 3 digits.

John_Rambo

Such an iconic Dublin institute. Well done to anyone that participated.


https://goo.gl/images/yDzase

In The Liffey Swim Jack B. Yeats captures the atmosphere and thrill of an event that has been part of Dublin’s annual sporting calendar since 1920. The swim, held between late July and early August, was promoted in 1923 as ‘the biggest free spectacle of the year in Dublin’. The competitors raced from Victoria Quay to the Butt Bridge, a mile and a half downriver, where prizes were awarded to the first six home. In the uncertain atmosphere of Dublin in the early 1920s, the Liffey Swim was a celebratory event, in which citizens, regardless of age or class, could participate in either a competitive or supportive capacity. The early races were even scheduled to take place in the evening to allow people to attend after work.
In his painting, Yeats invites his audience to engage with the event by cleverly placing them among the people. The crowd leans forward, drawing the viewer’s eye to the swimmers, who have reached a key point in the race and surge towards the finish line. By distorting the perspective, Yeats allows his picture to encompass the entire occasion. In the foreground, spectators jostle for position, while people on trams crane to catch a glimpse of the race. It is likely that the character in the brown fedora is the artist himself, and the woman wearing the elaborate yellow hat his wife Cottie. Yeats was awarded a silver medal for The Liffey Swim at the Paris Olympic exhibition in 1924.