Thursday, January 22, 2009

Open Water Kaizen

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

KAIZEN = Japanese for 'continuous improvement' is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life.

Despite being the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim bronze medalist, Cassandra Patten, and her silver medalist teammate, David Davies (shown on left), continue to look for improvement as they heads towards the first FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup in Brazil this weekend.


The British team, including standout Daniel Fogg, is led by Mark Perry, British Swimming Open Water Performance Manager. "The event is really going to be about different aims for the different athletes," wisely observed Perry. "Davies and Fogg are still quite inexperienced when it comes to open water swimming and I think the more exposure they have the better. For Patten this meet is more about building on her experience. She already has a good knowledge of the sport and I just want her to have another opportunity to test out her tactics."


"We will be taking part in a number of these events and the athletes will be testing out different tactics in different races. With open water swimming, tactics need to be planned on the day of the race. We all need to be able to think on our feet."

With a long-term vision aimed at culminating at the 2012 London Olympics, Perry’s has a unique strategy for the Brazilian 10 km race, "If we come away from this event with medals, then that would great, however it is not our main focus for the competition. I want the athletes to learn from these races and this will prepare them for future internationals."

Quotes provided by the Plymouth Herald.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

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