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Open Water Orienteering
Orienteering is a land-based activity where athletes use a map and a compass to locate a series of points shown on a specialized topographical map, choosing routes that will help them find all the points and get to the finish in the shortest amount of time. Each point, or "control", is a distinctly mapped feature, such as a stream junction, boulder, or hilltop, and is marked with an orange-and-white flag, or "bag".
In order to prove that the athletes have visited a control, they use a punch hanging from the bag to mark their control card provided to the athletes before the competition. The patterns of the punches vary, and each course will have its own unique set of punches.
Most land-based events use staggered starts to help ensure that the athletes get to navigate on their own without interference or distraction (or assistance) from other participants. The route the athletes takes between the controls are up to them. They select which way they travel between the controls.
Open water orienteering is a similar concept to its land-based equivalent, but is performed in open bodies of water that test the navigational IQ of the escort and the speed and endurance of the swimmer. An open water orienteering team consists of two people - a kayaker or paddle boarder (navigator) and the athlete-in-the-water (swimmer).
The swimmer depends on the navigator and the navigator is limited by the speed of the swimmer in a dual dependency on the water. The team competes head-to-head with other teams with the teams split into different divisions.
A series of randomly-positioned numbered buoys is placed on an open body of water. Each team is given a different "map" (a series of instructions giving the team a specific order which the buoys must be navigated).
The start and finish are onshore where the swimmer must pass through a starting gate while the kayaker can start in the shallow water. The navigator and swimmer travel the course together, passing each buoy according to their specific map that dictates the order in which each buoy is passed. Each team navigates around the random series of buoys. At each buoy (control point), there is a different shaped punch. As the swimmer and navigator round each buoy, the navigator finds the punch attached to buoy and punches a laminated card worn around their neck. After each buoy is navigated, the team heads off to the next buoy.
Each course in the series is different, but at each race, the team navigates eight buoys 750 meters part. All eight buoys must be swum to and around (navigated), all eight punches will be marked on the team card and the swimmer must return to the start, clear the water and run past the finish line for an official finish.
The start and finish has a 25-meter chute lined with buoys that lead to and from the official start and finish line onshore.
The top two times from each division are paired up. The first and second teams compete head on, the third and fourth best teams compete against one another, etc. The first, second and third teams are determined by the total time of their two swims.
Motala is a type of orienteering that is a point-to-point which the competitors do multiple short loops (each with a new map) to create a long course. This format is often used on a small map to create a longer course and is named after the city of Motala, Sweden.
In order to prove that the athletes have visited a control, they use a punch hanging from the bag to mark their control card provided to the athletes before the competition. The patterns of the punches vary, and each course will have its own unique set of punches.
Most land-based events use staggered starts to help ensure that the athletes get to navigate on their own without interference or distraction (or assistance) from other participants. The route the athletes takes between the controls are up to them. They select which way they travel between the controls.
Open water orienteering is a similar concept to its land-based equivalent, but is performed in open bodies of water that test the navigational IQ of the escort and the speed and endurance of the swimmer. An open water orienteering team consists of two people - a kayaker or paddle boarder (navigator) and the athlete-in-the-water (swimmer).
The swimmer depends on the navigator and the navigator is limited by the speed of the swimmer in a dual dependency on the water. The team competes head-to-head with other teams with the teams split into different divisions.
A series of randomly-positioned numbered buoys is placed on an open body of water. Each team is given a different "map" (a series of instructions giving the team a specific order which the buoys must be navigated).
The start and finish are onshore where the swimmer must pass through a starting gate while the kayaker can start in the shallow water. The navigator and swimmer travel the course together, passing each buoy according to their specific map that dictates the order in which each buoy is passed. Each team navigates around the random series of buoys. At each buoy (control point), there is a different shaped punch. As the swimmer and navigator round each buoy, the navigator finds the punch attached to buoy and punches a laminated card worn around their neck. After each buoy is navigated, the team heads off to the next buoy.
Each course in the series is different, but at each race, the team navigates eight buoys 750 meters part. All eight buoys must be swum to and around (navigated), all eight punches will be marked on the team card and the swimmer must return to the start, clear the water and run past the finish line for an official finish.
The start and finish has a 25-meter chute lined with buoys that lead to and from the official start and finish line onshore.
The top two times from each division are paired up. The first and second teams compete head on, the third and fourth best teams compete against one another, etc. The first, second and third teams are determined by the total time of their two swims.
Motala is a type of orienteering that is a point-to-point which the competitors do multiple short loops (each with a new map) to create a long course. This format is often used on a small map to create a longer course and is named after the city of Motala, Sweden.
Exclusive Open Water Source Interviews!
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Shelley Taylor-Smith
7-time World Marathon Champion
Shelley Taylor-Smith's first major achievement was breaking the world four-mile record in 1983. Then, she won the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim five times, first breaking the world record in 1995 and setting the current world record in 5 hours, 45 minutes and 25 seconds. She also won the Australian Championships three times, and 7 consecutive world professional marathon swimming championships. [More...]
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Video Duration: 0:40:20 (40 minutes and 20 seconds)
Shelley Taylor-Smith's first major achievement was breaking the world four-mile record in 1983. Then, she won the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim five times, first breaking the world record in 1995 and setting the current world record in 5 hours, 45 minutes and 25 seconds. She also won the Australian Championships three times, and 7 consecutive world professional marathon swimming championships. [More...]
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Video Duration: 0:40:20 (40 minutes and 20 seconds)
Alex Meyer
2010 World 25K Champion
Alex Meyer from Harvard University faced massive disappointment when he was disqualified at the last turn at the 2009 world championships. Coming into the last turn at the 2010 world championships in Canada, Alex made sure to avoid d�j� vu as he went stroke-for-stroke with the 2-time world champion Valerio Cleri. In a race for the ages that came down to two men giving it their all, Alex zigzagged his way to [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
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Video Duration: 0:45:16 (45 minutes and 16 seconds)
Alex Meyer from Harvard University faced massive disappointment when he was disqualified at the last turn at the 2009 world championships. Coming into the last turn at the 2010 world championships in Canada, Alex made sure to avoid d�j� vu as he went stroke-for-stroke with the 2-time world champion Valerio Cleri. In a race for the ages that came down to two men giving it their all, Alex zigzagged his way to [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:45:16 (45 minutes and 16 seconds)
Christine Jennings
World Cup Gold Medalist & Top Pro
Christine Jennings who has burst upon the highest echelon of the elite open water swimming world, won the extremely competitive RCP Tiburon Mile in a close race over Olympians Melissa Gorman and Chloe Sutton.The 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships culminated in an entertaining race - 10,000 meters of shoulder-to-shoulder swimming in the women's marathon in Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California. Simply put, Christine Jennings is on her way to [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:36:47 (36 minutes and 47 seconds)
Christine Jennings who has burst upon the highest echelon of the elite open water swimming world, won the extremely competitive RCP Tiburon Mile in a close race over Olympians Melissa Gorman and Chloe Sutton.The 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships culminated in an entertaining race - 10,000 meters of shoulder-to-shoulder swimming in the women's marathon in Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California. Simply put, Christine Jennings is on her way to [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:36:47 (36 minutes and 47 seconds)
Emily Brunemann and Chip Peterson
World 10K Champion
Chip Peterson: At the 2005 World Championships, Chip won gold in the 10K event and a silver medal behind Germany's Thomas Lurz in the 5K event. Chip was jointly awarded the inaugural Open Water Swimmer of the Year [More...]
Emily Brunemann: at Michigan... NCAA Champion in 1,650-yard Freestyle (2008) ... two-time USA Swimming National Team member who trains daily with Chip, both training hard with dreams of Olympic glory [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:37:51 (37 minutes and 51 seconds)
Chip Peterson: At the 2005 World Championships, Chip won gold in the 10K event and a silver medal behind Germany's Thomas Lurz in the 5K event. Chip was jointly awarded the inaugural Open Water Swimmer of the Year [More...]
Emily Brunemann: at Michigan... NCAA Champion in 1,650-yard Freestyle (2008) ... two-time USA Swimming National Team member who trains daily with Chip, both training hard with dreams of Olympic glory [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:37:51 (37 minutes and 51 seconds)
Penny Palfrey
Fearless Adventurer
Penny Palfrey is one of swimming�s greatest aquatic adventurers. She has done numerous unprecedented swims in cold water as well as warm water, starting down two Great White Sharks along the way. Prepare to be enthralled by her descriptions of her incredibly dangerous swims when she faced humungous ocean swells in Hawaii and sharks in the Pacific as well as her races around Manhattan Island. Learn about how she trains and overcomes obstacles [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:59:50 (59 minutes and 50 seconds)
Penny Palfrey is one of swimming�s greatest aquatic adventurers. She has done numerous unprecedented swims in cold water as well as warm water, starting down two Great White Sharks along the way. Prepare to be enthralled by her descriptions of her incredibly dangerous swims when she faced humungous ocean swells in Hawaii and sharks in the Pacific as well as her races around Manhattan Island. Learn about how she trains and overcomes obstacles [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:59:50 (59 minutes and 50 seconds)
Trent Grimsey
World Silver Medalist & Top Pro
Trent Grimsey is currently Australia's highest ranked male open water swimmer on the FINA pro circuit. Since making the switch from pool to the open water in 2008 after just missing out on Australia's 2008 Olympic Team in the 1500 freestyle, "Trento" has shown he can mix it with the best in the world, from 5K to 25K.
In his relatively short open water career there is not much Trent hasn't achieved. [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:45:42 (45 minutes and 52 seconds)
Trent Grimsey is currently Australia's highest ranked male open water swimmer on the FINA pro circuit. Since making the switch from pool to the open water in 2008 after just missing out on Australia's 2008 Olympic Team in the 1500 freestyle, "Trento" has shown he can mix it with the best in the world, from 5K to 25K.
In his relatively short open water career there is not much Trent hasn't achieved. [More...]
PREMIUM MEMBERS:
Click HERE to access this insightful interview.
Video Duration: 0:45:42 (45 minutes and 52 seconds)
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Open Water Wednesday is a regularly scheduled, entertaining one-hour online TV show that focuses exclusively on open water swimming, its superstars (both past and current), its personalities, trends, growth, equipment , rules, traditions and events. Open Water Wednesday showcases swimmers, coaches, escort pilots, sponsors, administrators, officials and race directors who will describe their exploits, lifestyles and perspectives on air.
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