Open Water Swim Info
|
May 31, 2022 |
Dear Parents,
We have had some requests for
more information about open water swimming in the state of
Illinois. So, here it goes! Listed below is some information
about three Open Water Races in our state for the month of June.
The first two are sanctioned by Illinois Swimming. The last is not.
Sanctioned Events are covered under the umbrella of USA Swimming
and have pre-approved safety plans in place. Non sanctioned races
do not carry these distinctions. As more information becomes
available, we will make sure to pass it along.
1)The first race is the Illinois
Open Water Prep Meet Lemont, IL.
- Entries for this meet open May 24th and will close June 14. The race is June 21st. That race packet will be on the web site and attached with a separate email to applicable groups. This event does have qualifying times. This race is $35 and does have entry limitations WITH time standards. Those standards can be found by using the link below. This registration procedure is done through USA Swimming' OME (Online Meet Entry). http://www.usaswimming.org/ome
- If you have any questions about registration or would like more information, please reach out Head Coach and Illinois Open Water Chairperson, Tom Rieman [email protected]
- Illinois Open Water Time Standards
2) The next set of races is Open
water Zones. This is also an event that will include NTA’s
Coach, Greg Hartman, as an assistant on this coaching staff. If you
are not familiar with open water swimming, the clinic is strongly
encouraged. Please reach out to Tom Rieman with questions regarding
these two events.
- The Central Zones Open Water registration is now open for team Illinois Athletes to register. Deadline is Friday, June 10th, 2022. This is a hard deadline and no registrations will be accepted after this date.
- Central Zones Open Water Clinic- Thursday, June 16, 2022
- Central Zones Open Water Race- Friday, June 17, 2022
- Registration is a two part process and links are listed below.
- Step 1: Go To https://www.teamunify.com/EventShow.jsp?id=1059649&team=ilzone Clinic fee is $26.00 and the race fee is $15.00. Each swimmer will receive a Team Illinois Tee Shirt and Cap at the event.
- Step 2: Once your registration is approved, you will go here and ENTER your athlete for the event.
- If you have any questions about this event, please reach out to our good friend Team Illinois Central Zone head coach Tom “Tiny” Rieman. [email protected]
3) The last race available at
this time is the WOW race held here in Wilmette at Gillson Beach.
This event has no qualifying times and is NOT an Illinois Swimming
sanctioned event as the other two are. This is a fun race that
supports the Ouilmette Foundation, which is a non profit
organization that helps support the community we live and work in
together. This event will be held on Saturday, June 19th, 2022. The
cost of the race is $70 and includes a beach towel and swim cap. If
you are interested in registering, contact the Ouilmette Foundation
online or email [email protected]
for more information.
Lastly, it is important to
understand that these races and events, in most cases, are not NTA
team events. This means that the sign up procedure may be different
and must be initiated by the parent. Coaching and supervision
provided at sanctioned swims will be coaches from Team Illinois and
may not have NTA affiliations. Please let your coach know if you
plan on going. If we get a good number at some of these races,
coaches will attend to watch kids swim, so keep your group coach in
the loop. As always, be safe and have fun! See you on deck. We will
be making this information available on the site as
well.
James Helm
New Trier
Aquatics
Age Group Coordinator/Lead
Coach
