Poise Is Power In The Open Water

Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

In a competitive open water race with a mass start, sometimes swimmers get boxed in swimming within a pack.

In the words of national champion Eney Jones, "Poise is power."

That is, stay cool, calm and collected. Understand the situation and resolve it.

When describing what to do when one gets boxed in swimming within a pack, Eney Jones recommends, "Sometimes no matter what preparation you have done, you can get boxed in rounding a buoy in a race. It is your reaction that counts, not the situation."

"Your training should include working "power catches" with a halo machine or head-up water polo drills or 0-60 acceleration drills. You can also work on mermaid turns where you flip at the flags, or in open water, do an actual flip turn and work on acceleration at the beginning of the stroke to initiate forward propulsion. Power towers or baskets also help increase strength. Sometimes, proper placement entering the turn will not result in what you intend because you have no control of the others rounding the buoys. Just deal with your placement, but resolve it with the correct mental control, power and finesse."

Photo shows Eney Jones racing against Olympic gold medalist Brendan Hansen in the Race for the Oceans in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Copyright © 2009 by World Open Water Swimming Association

Race For Rome and Race For The Oceans

While Aaron Peirsol was busy setting a new world record in the 100-meter backstroke in 51.94 seconds at the USA Swimming World Swimming Championship trials in Indianapolis last night, we know that he and his business partners are also preparing for another Race for the Oceans in October.

The 7-time Olympic gold medalist announced he would award US$3,000 of his own money to the winners of his Race for the Oceans open water swim with the winners of the men's and women's 1K race winning US$1,500 each.

Excited by Aaron's leadership, Olympian Eric Shanteau, 3-time Olympic gold medalist Brooke Bennett, 4-time Olympic medalist Brendan Hansen, and world championship silver medalist Hayley Peirsol have also joined the cause and will contribute to the event.

"This event and cause have been a real passion for me," Aaron said. "I want to attract the best in the world to this event to promote and educate people about the severity of the issues facing our oceans. I decided it was time to back my passion for saving the oceans by matching the commitment with funds of my own to continue to build the excitement and help expand the cause."

Aaron will host the Race for the Oceans in Fort Myers, Florida, with 3-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, as the master of ceremonies for the event. Aaron and Rowdy will also team up to teach a swim clinic for all ages on Saturday morning, October 10. "Protecting our world’s oceans is very important to me because I grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean and now that I have a chance to make a difference, it’s important to me to help people understand that we can’t take the beauty of our oceans for granted. This is a great chance for people to experience the joy of swimming in Florida’s warm ocean waters and raise awareness for an important cause."

Aaron is partnership with Oceana, an organization that campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans with teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates around the globe. The Race for the Oceans raises funds and awareness for Oceana for which Aaron is a spokesperson. Part of the proceeds from the event will go to clean up the oceans and raise awareness for the ongoing need to protect them.

Superstars In and For the Oceans

PureSport has announced its sponsorship of Aaron Peirsol's Race for the Oceans in Fort Myers Beach, Florida in October. Race for the Oceans raises funds and awareness for Oceana that helps protect and restore the world’s oceans.

Aaron, a Oceana spokesperson and lifelong waterman from Newport Beach, California, has a personal interest in cleaning up the oceans and raising awareness for the ongoing need to protect them.

Aaron's close friend and NBC Olympic broadcaster Rowdy Gaines who has called all of Aaron's 5 gold-medal and 2 silver-medal Olympic races, will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Aaron and Rowdy (shown above) teach a swim clinic for all ages the day before the race.

As Aaron says, "Protecting our world’s oceans is very important to me because I grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean and, now that I have a chance to make a difference, it’s important to me to help people understand that we can’t take the beauty of our oceans for granted. This is a great chance for people to experience the joy of swimming in Florida’s warm ocean waters and raise awareness for an important cause."

The Race for the Oceans. offers a clinic, a 500-yard Junior swim, a 1K swim, and a 5K swim and relay.

Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans with marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates who work on policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Oceana has offices in Washington, DC, New York, Alaska, Los Angeles, Monterey, Portland, Madrid, Brussels and Chile with more than 300,000 members.

PureSport interest in helping Aaron's efforts came from his use of PureSport before and during the Beijing Olympics.

As nearly everyone in the global open water swimming community can agree with, Aaron says, "I have always had a very natural connection to the water, and that connection stems from the ocean itself. I think a more pertinent question would be 'Did I ever not have a relationship with the water?'"

Olympic Champions in the Open Water

Olympic greats Aaron Peirsol and Rowdy Gaines headline the Race for the Oceans. Yesterday, they gave a swim clinic in the warm Florida waters and are gearing up for today's ocean races. "I want to get the swimming community and our fans involved in the fight to save our oceans," said Peirsol.

Photo by Marc Beaudin of the News Press.

Copyright © 2008 by Open Water Source

London 2012 Open Water Race in the Ocean

The News Press of Ft. Myers, Florida reported today that the International Olympic Committee decided that the open water swimming in the London 2012 Olympics will be held in the ocean.

The Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the Beijing Olympics were held in the Olympic rowing-canoeing basin.

"Open water swimming has almost done a 360 (degree turn) with the decision about the London Olympics. Now, we provide a venue that no one else can provide," said Swim Florida coach and open water promoter Gregg Cross at the Aaron Peirsol's Race for the Oceans event this weekend in Ft. Myers.

Confirmation of the IOC announcement is being immediately sought.

Olympic Champions Race for the Oceans

Highly-respected Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol is known as a fierce competitor in the pool, but the oceans also have a special place in his heart.

As a native of Orange County, California, Aaron has teamed up with Oceana and gold medalist Rowdy Gaines to create and product the inaugural Race for the Oceans on November 8-9 in Ft. Myers, Florida.

"Sign up now and we'll be training together online with tips, workouts, videos and more to help you prepare for the Race for the Oceans," says Aaron on the event website. "I am looking forward to meeting you and swimming with you in this great event."

On Saturday, November 8th, Aaron and Rowdy will host an open water swimming clinic and a 500-yard Junior Swim for 12 & under swimmers. The clinic will include an autograph and picture-taking session. Later that evening, a welcome cocktail party and dinner will be hosted by the Olympic stars.

On Sunday, November 9th, 1K and 5K races (for both age-group and masters) and a masters 5K relay (4 x 1.25K legs) will be held in the warm, clear waters of Ft. Myers.