Welcome to the 2011 Open Sea Programme. The official programme will be available to swimmers at the races but you can also access the calendar via the links on the website. The season is now under way and you'll be able to find all the results shortly after each race in the Results section below.

Contact Open Sea Committee for further information on leinsteropenseacommittee2011@eircom.net
Visit us on http://www.facebook.com/leinsteropensea for all the latest news.

Leinster Swimmers Win Gold at World Winter Championships 2012 in Latvia
Jerry Kiersey and Rachel Doyle won gold medals in the 450 metre endurance swim at the World Winter Championships in Jurmala, Riga, Latvia, on Saturday 21 January.  Anne McAdam (Phoenix SC) won the silver medal for the 50m freestyle and Rachel Lee (Guinness SC) won silver for the 25m Freestyle. Adam Lynch of Phoenix SC also deserves a special special mention for completing the 450m swim. The Leinster Swimmers came 7th out of the 27 countries that competed and were competing against countries with a history of ice swimming including Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The water temperature was minus 1 degree and swimmers had to abide by normal sea swimming rules and not wear wet suits etc. The 450metre course they competed in was a “swimming pool” cut out of ice in the river Lielupe which flows into the Baltic Sea at Jurmala, Riga. For pictures see the Gallery Page. See also www.winterswimming2012.com and Youtube Link.

Rachel and Jerry were among a party of twenty Irish Swimmers who travelled to Riga to compete. The sea in Dublin this winter is around 4 degrees, so swimming at minus one is a substantial drop in temperature.
Jerry Kiersey, Anne McAdam, Adam Lynch and Rachel Doyle all train with Phoenix Masters in Clondalkin on Tuesday mornings at 6.00 to 7.00 am, Thursday 6 to 7.00am, Saturday at 8.15am and Sundays at the Forty Foot, Sandycove, at 10.00am

The competitors from Leinster were as follows:
• Phoenix Swimmers (Anne McAdam, Andre Ray, Bernard O'Sullivan, Isabel Collins, Sean Dervan, Barry Dunne, Jerry Kiersey, Rachel Doyle, Adam Lynch);
• Guinness Swimmers (Rachel Lee, Susan Dillon, John Egan);
• NAC swimmers (Siobhan O'Brien, Declan Harte , Brian Wolverson);
• Tom Healy (Glenalbyn SC)
• Jerry Kiersey (Eastern Bay);
• Caroline Hyland (Dublin SC).

Radio Documentary "Three Rivers One Summer" by Ger Philpott
Ger Philpott’s radio documentary : Three Rivers – One Summer was broadcast on Sat 26 Nov at 6pm on the Documentary on One slot on RTE Radio 1. It featured the 91st Dublin City Liffey Swim, the Lee Swim and The Hudson Swim, and celebrated the lives of Ger’s recently deceased parents, Mary and Tadhg Philpott. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/radio-documentary-three-rivers-one-summer.html

91st Dublin City Liffey Swim 2011 - Sat 3 Sep 11
Click here for a link to a Picasa web album with a selection of photos from the Men's Race in the 91st Liffey Swim. If anyone has photos from either the Men's or Ladies races please contact Tom.
To put names to some of the faces use this list: Mens' Handicap List

Race Registration
Race registration closes 15 minutes before the start of each race. From this weekend (25/26 Jun, this will be strictly enforced and anyone arriving after the registration closes will not be eligible to swim.
Arrive early to avoid disappointment

Tides 2011
Click here for a list of tides for the 2011 Season.

Wetsuits
Wetsuits are not permitted in the Leinster Open Sea races unless in exceptional circumstances (e.g. medical reasons), and permission must be authorised by the Handicapper at race registration.
If someone is given permission to wear a wetsuit they are not eligible for race prizes or swimmer of the year points. Wetsuit swims will not be counted towards qualifying swims for the Liffey Swim or Dun Laoire Harbour race
No wetsuits will be permitted in the Liffey Swim or Dun Laoire Harbour races this year.

Online Survey by Dr. Tom Doyle into Jellyfish Stings
Stung By a Jellyfish
Have you been stung by a jellyfish? If yes, then we are interested in knowing where and when the incident happened and what treatment, if any, you received.

Simply click on our Google map tool to “Report a sting” and complete a short questionnaire. The whole process should take less than 5 minutes. The information collected will help us determine if there are any particular hotspots or areas to avoid swimming in. It will also give us a good estimate of how many persons are stung each summer. Thank you for your time and information.

http://www.jellyfish.ie/index.asp

Click here for an information sheet for First Aid for the treatment of JellyFish Sting

Lecture by Tom Doyle
Last year Dr. Doyle gave a lecture on jellyfish and the treatment of Jellyfish stings in the Royal Marine Hotel. Dr Doyle who is based in Cork is eager to come back up and give another lecturer before the 2011 Season is over. Before we arrange time and location with Dr. Doyle please email
Leinsteropenseacommittee2011@eircom.net so we gauge the amount of interest among the swimming community.

Jellyfish ID Card
Click here for a link to a partial jellyfish ID card provided by   Tom Doyle from te Zoology Dept of UCC a few years ago.

Under 18 Competitor's Parental Consent Form (new for 2011)
Click here to download/view the Under 18 Competitor's Parental Consent Form.

Event Safety Plans
The Open Sea Committee would like to thank all clubs which have submitted their event safety plans.
We would like to gently remind those clubs that have not submitted their plans that we would appreciate if they would forward them on as soon as possible. If you have a problem completing the plan please contact the Open Sea Committee and we will be more than happy to assist you.

Organising Clubs
At the Open Sea committee's Safety meeting in May 2007 the Safety Guidelines were revised and agreed for the 2007 season with the help of the RNLI. [These notes remain here for 2010 pending any changes].

The RNLI guidelines cover planning and running a race, under what circumstances a race should be cancelled and provide sample forms for, Risk Assessment, Rescue, and an Emergency Action Plan.

The Open Sea Committee requires clubs to provide a designated Safety Officer for each race who will liaise with the Open Sea Safety Officer on the day. Clubs must also provide an Equipment Officer to ensure all equipment, - buoys, anchors, weights, radios are used and returned safely and in good order.

Swimmers who are under eighteen years of age on 1 June 2011 must have a a parental consent form signed and present this to the open sea committee on race day. Only one form per season is required.

It is also perhaps worth pointing out that whilst the committee and the race organisers take all possible safety measures into consideration, Open Water swimming is an active sport and swimmers compete at their own discretion and within the limits of their own ability. Any swimmer who does not like the conditions on any race day should not swim.

Open Sea Safety Guidelines
Click here to download/view a copy of the RNLI-approved Open Sea Safety Guidelines.

Safety Management Plan
Click here to download/view a sample Event Safety Management Plan.

Sea Swim Race Day Checklist
Click here to download/view the Sea Swim Race Day Checklist.