Triathlon Swimming Q&A: Tips For Race Directors

Q: I’m a race director. What simple things can I do that is often overlooked regarding swim course design in triathlon?

A: It is assumed that you have adequate safety staff on-hand and qualified professionals in the water ready for any emergency. That’s the important stuff, as all I can suggest is the gravy. So, here’s a list of the little things you can think about to ensure your triathlon race reaches the next level of organization. It is not meant to be comprehensive. I’m sure there are many other ideas out there!

• Marker buoy color: make sure they are of a color that can be easily seen in the water. Green buoys are virtually invisible to the swimmers and can lead to chaos. By comparison, orange is much better.
• Sun: Make sure you know where the sun rises. If possible, try not to have any part of the course going into the sun, as it is very difficult to see. If you absolutely have to have the course go into the sun, then try and make it straight into the sun. Thus, the competitors merely have to swim in the direction of greatest blindness!
• Marker buoy distance: If the course has tough conditions like waves, sun or fog, it is ideal to space buoys a maximum of 50 yards apart (preferably even less). It is more important to have lots of marker buoys on the way out than it is on the way back to shore. On the way back, athletes can always sight to the shoreline.
• Marker buoy placement: Do your best to keep the marker buoys aligned and in a straight line to the turns. They don’t add value if everybody in the race knows they have to ignore them to swim straight.
• Swim start: Try and make the direction of the swim start at right angle to the shoreline (90 degrees, or straight out). If it is at an angle, then you can have chaos as some swimmers run into the water right away, while others run up the shore and get a massive head start.

Click here to view previous tips.