Courtesy of Rondi Davies, 20 Bridges Swim Around Manhattan, New York.
Rondi Davies, David Barra, and Alex Arévalo announced the dates and registration information about the 2017 20 Bridges Swim Around Manhattan.
“As many of you know, midway through the 2016 open water season, New York Open Water picked up the baton where NYC Swim left off and conducted three 20 Bridges Swim Around Manhattan events (formerly, the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim) with a 100% success rate,” described Davies about one of the events of the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.
“Considering there is a lot involved in planning one of these swims, we’re proud of this accomplishment and look forward to having more time to plan ahead and make the 2017 season great.”
She explained the details of their plans for the 20 Bridges events for the 2017 season.
“We are proposing to run three or four 20 Bridges Swims with up to 12 swimmers per event. We have selected four date blocks of between 2 and 6 days when these swims will take place. On one of these date blocks, we hope to hold a 20 Bridges weekend festival with two 20 Bridges swims on consecutive days in order to draw a swimmers from all over the world and celebrate our great sport of marathon swimming; one of the best traditions of Manhattan Island Marathon Swim was the large congregation of like-minded people and it’s something we’d like to continue.”
20 Bridges 2017 Dates
Saturday, June 24th to Monday, June 26th
Thursday, July 20th to Tuesday, July 25th
Friday, August 18th to Wednesday, August 23rd
Thursday, September 7th to Friday, September 8th
“If you register for 20 Bridges on November 1st, we will ask you to order your preference of dates you’d like to participate. If there is a date you cannot make, then leave the field blank. By December 1st, we will assign you a date for your swim, which will also have a rain date option. In other words, you will need to make plans to be in New York City and ready to swim on two consecutive dates.”
One or two slots for two-person relays are available on all offered dates. “Relays are a great way for swimmers new to marathon swimming to get valuable experience in what it’s like to swim a longer event.”
The cost for 20 Bridges will range between US$2,500 and US$2,700 based on the size and comfort of the escort boat. This cost will include the boat, boater, observer, kayak, and kayaker. Swimmers will be allowed two crew members. If the swimmer wants have more crew members, they must make arrangements with the event organizers and the cost will be higher because of a need for a larger boat.
The total fee for a two-person relay is US$3,000.
Davies explains the Withdrawal Policy. “Swimmers will receive a full refund minus a US$300 processing fee if they withdraw before April 1st. Swimmers will lose their US$1,500 deposit unless we can fill space with someone on the waitlist in which case all will be fully refunded minus a US$300 processing fee after a withdrawal after April 1st. Swimmers will lose their entire fee if they withdraw on event day. It may be possible to direct some of the funds toward a future swim event.”
Swimmers are welcome to raise funds for a cause when they swim 20 Bridges as long as they abide by the following guidelines:
* The organization that receives funds for must be a registered charity or not-for-profit organization.
* The organization can not represent a religious or political cause.
* All proceeds must go to the charity that the swimmer is fundraising for. Swimmers can not fund their swim through a fundraising campaign.
Davies recommends what swimmers can prepare in advance for the application process. “An emergency contact name, relationship, and contact telephone number, medical history and relevant conditions, swimming resume for distances greater than 10 km that includes dates, times, conditions including water temperature, and online links to the results, one-hour pool swim pace performed at marathon pace and the type of pool (e.g., long course meters or short course yards), and a feeding plan for a marathon swim.”
Timeline:
November 1st – 20 Bridges registration opens
December 1st – Date assignments will be made
December 1st – Deposit (US$1,500) payment is open
December 15th – Deposits are due. Registrants may lose their slot if they are late with this payment and there is a waiting list for that date
April 1st – Final payment balance is due. Crew registration must be completed by this time.
20 Bridges Selection Criteria:
The following considerations will be taken to approve and assign swim dates for 20 Bridges applicants.
1. Order received
2. Preferred swim dates
3. Completed qualifying information
4. Field diversity for each date (age, gender, nationality)
5. Swimmer schedule (English Channel, Catalina Channel bookings, etc.)
6. Participation as a New York Open Water volunteer
“The seventh 8 Bridges Hudson River Swim will take place from June 15th to June 22nd 2017,” says Davies about New York Open Water’s other signature event. “Applications for 7-stagers will open on November 1st. Applications for all other swimmers will open on November 15th. If you would like to swim the entire event, please register early as slots for the more popular stages are filled quickly once general registration opens. You can register at this link.
The tentative dates for our shorter open water events for 2017 include 2 Bridges Swim Under the Walkway on Saturday, June 3rd 2017, the Spuyten Duyvil 10K on Sunday, September 17th 2017, and Swim Around Governor’s Island on a date TBA.”
Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association