Several comments were received defending the policies I criticized in the February 1st posting on USRowing’s Cold Water Safety Tips.
Let me summarize those comments.
1. Rowing on cold water is, or can be, completely safe, assuming appropriate precautions are taken;
2. A properly prepared safety launch is important;
- A cold-water swim test can be valuable;
- PFDs may make sense, but with caveats;
- Neoprene tights, shorts, or vests may be good alternative to PFDs;
- PFDs don’t work for juniors;
7. PFDs don’t, by themselves, provide a safe rowing environment.
A couple of comments were also received supporting the concept of standards intended specifically for scholastic rowers.
All of these will be addressed more fully in coming posts, but let me say that I agree with points 1 and 7 — that cold water rowing can be safe and that PFDs don’t necessarily make a program safe – and focus on the idea of a cold-water swim test (#3) at this time.
But first, let’s review USRowing’s guidelines.
USRowing’s Safety Guidelines list the swim test prominently as their second item: “All rowers must be able to pass a swim test, preferably including putting on a life jacket while in the water.” It’s a familiar ritual for scholastic rowers, including self-consciousness, preening, uncomfortable joking around, and finally jumping in the pool and going through a test that usually includes swimming a couple of laps, treading water for a few minutes, and then putting on a cheap, Type II PFD that slips over your head and buckles around the waist. It’s pretty simple. Then everyone dries off, some are shivering, and they get dressed and go home.
For kids who are strong swimmers this is a small nuisance, and for kids who aren’t confident in the water it requires a little courage, but the larger question is whether it’s a good test. Let’s examine that by looking at the test conditions.
Our high school pool temperature is kept at 70 degrees and, aside from the small waves created by a group of kids sloshing around, it’s calm. For rowing on a calm day with water temperatures around 70f or higher, it’s a good test. Everyone should always be taught to stay with the boat and, assuming a safety launch is close by, it tests the necessary skills: can you stay afloat and swim (back to the boat) if necessary.
But it doesn’t test for the numbing effects of cold water that quickly inhibit the body’s ability to perform two of the three tasks tested: swimming and performing fine motor tasks like buckling a plastic snap. In cold water, we quickly lose those abilities.
One coach suggested an interesting variant: a polar bear plunge. Before rowing on cold water at the beginning of the season, jump in the water and see how it feels. And see how comfortable you feel climbing into the launch after only a minute or two in the water.
Personally, it sounds like a good idea to me.
What would be the value of having a pre-season, cold-water test that simply involves jumping in the water (with appropriate safety precautions in place, of course), and climbing out onto the safety launch?
Please let us know what you think.
Marc
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