Go to a World Cup Final or the American Super Bowl or Game 7 of the NBA Championships or World Series, and you will see the Who’s Who of that sport.

What is the equivalent in the open water swimming world of a World Cup or Super Bowl in terms of meeting the Who’s Who? There are several opportunities:

• World Aquatics Championships
• Summer Olympic Games
• International Ice Swimming Association World Championship
• International Winter Swimming Association World Championships
• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame annual banquet and induction ceremony

Not only can you see and take photos with the Who’s Who at the IMSHOF Induction Ceremony, but you can also talk with and discuss any number of topics at length with the heroes and heroines of the sport of marathon swimming and channel swimming.

With over 100 luminaries expected, already IMSHOF Honorees Beth Yudovin, Ned Denison, Nora Toledano Cadena, Julie Ridge, Elizabeth Fry, Sally Anne Minty-Gravett, MBE, Suzanne Heim-Bowen, Shelley Taylor Smith, Madhu Nagaraja, Marcia Cleveland, Catherine Kase, Ros Hardiman, Courtney Moates Paulk, Penny Lee Dean EdD, Forrest Nelson, Antonio Argüelles, Gustavo Oriozabala, Sid Cassidy, Sandra Bucha, Michael Read, MBE, Jaime Lomelín Gavaldón, Allan do Carmo, Massimo Giuliani, Lynton Mortensen, Dr. Evgenij Pop Acev, Simone Ruffini, and Dan Simonelli are planning to attend.

Visit www.imshof.org to make your reservations and for more information.

The Class of 2024 Inductions & Awards Weekend will take place in Cancún, México from May 17-19th with the dinner on the 18th.  All the planned events are walking distance from the hotels:

• Friday, May 17th: many will arrive early. Casual dinners can be organized.
• Saturday, May 18th: 1.9 km and 3.8 km sea swims, IMSHOF Congress (for Ceremony attendees), Induction & Awards Dinner, and after-dinner drinks
• Sunday, May 19th: 10 km sea swim

IMSHOF Congress in Cancún

Chairperson Ned Denison explains, “The purpose of the 2-hour Congress is to facilitate discussion and learning amongst the attending Honorees and Executive Committee members and their guests. IMSHOF consulted widely and have set a few topics in advance. It is not expected that any major decisions will be made during the Congress. The sport doesn’t work that way – and IMSHOF is not able to enforce key sport-wide decisions.

We will explain what the IMSHOF is and what we do: recognize the world’s most successful marathon swimmers in competitive races, individuals for their solo swim exploits, plus contributors who can be administrators, coaches, pilots, or organizations to the sport. We are a non-profit educational sports hall of fame (nobody is paid and IMSHOF runs on a tiny budget) devoted to marathon swimming and is dedicated to promoting the Honorees and the sport.

The IMSHOF has two initiatives; standards for Majors and Records and nomination standards that include unassisted swim (unless noted), kilometer, straight line measure and generally ratified and witnessed.

The IMSHOF does not ratify swims or serve as an accreditation body. It is not an International control or governing body, and does not engage in controversy.

We want to discuss what can the IMSHOF do better and what extra or new things should IMSHOF consider doing? What are the best and worse things about the sport? We also want to discuss the increasing cost of popular solo swims – partly due to more swimming interest (10 – 100 times) and a relatively small increase in volunteers (2 times?). In the past, one swim per summer in your boat was fun – now 12 times a season is a JOB. The upsides include more swimming slots and more professionalism in the sport. Attendees can offer their experiences – any making money in the sport: piloting, kayaking, coaching, swim camps, and offer any thoughts for the future.”

© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“