Need some volunteers: Toad Suck Tri Fest (Conway, Sep 10-11)

[Tim Eubanks]

Toad Suck Tri Fest is at lake Beaver Fork near Conway, September 10 and 11. The organizer needs three kayaks each day for swimmer safety/support. Saturday boats need to be in the water at 6:40am, race finished by 8:30. Sunday boats need to be in the wter at 7:40, race finishes at 8:45.

If interested, email me at timeubanks@yahoo.com and I'll put you in touch with the folks who know more.

[Chester]

Last year Fred, the event co-ordinator, got us all nice T-shirts, and a free meal was available if you are able to stay around till noonish.

[Shark Attack]

Count me in again

[Louiscov]

Hi gang,

I'm doing the aquabike (swim/bike event) Saturday the 10th and hope to come over to meet some of you before it starts. If you see a 60+ guy who looks like he might be the poster boy for the "Slow Fat Triathlete" it might be me. Safety boaters are essential to these events, and you get a tshirt and food, a chance to get your boat wet and practice your stroke, plus hang out with the GREATEST GROUP OF FRIENDS ON EARTH, the ACC. It's a chance to model water safety (lifejackets) too.

I guess ArkLaTex has two frequent swimmers: me and Harlan Hughes!!!

[fryingsquirrel]

Count me in again this year. Had a blast out there last year, and was really surprised by the amount of athletes that were participating. Also was pleasantly surprised by the variety of physical conditions of said athletes. It goes to show that you don't need to be a 25 year old dude in perfect condition to compete.
Count me in for the sunday race, I dunno about saturday yet. I will probably have to work sat morning.
Tim, PM or call me if you need to talk details.
Jon Ellwood

[Tim Eubanks]

Fred Phillips, event coordinator, could use a couple more boats. If you've contacted him, good. If not and your'e still willing please call/email:
office 870-246-6686, cell 870-403-2790
DLTevents@gmail.com

Thanks!

[bmartin]

Add me to the list. I live on the lake and have an assortment of boats. I'll contact Fred directly to see what they are looking for. Have some rec SOT yaks which I think are ideal for supporting swimmers in a setting like this that I would be happy to lend out to some boatless volunteers.

[Tim Eubanks]

Excellent! thanks for pitching in.

[bmartin]

I'm on for Sunday AM. Weather permitting, I will be giving pulls behind a wakeboat to ACC vounteers. This will be your chance to get some surf on in flat water so come on out.

[Cowper]

Saturday Sept 10 Report:

We had 4 yakers (Edgar, Timothy, Shark Attack (Wes), and me) and one open boat (dang I'm bad for remembering names, but he was a Ham Club member vs. an ACC message board regular). There were probably about 4 motorboats as well representing various County and Sheriff’s rescue units, and one more that looked “independent”. Out of the entire group of racers, only one ended up needing to hang on to a kayak and rest; initially due to some equipment issues with his goggles leaking, but I believe he had more trouble later on and was unable to complete the entire swim course.

While the power boats were nice to have as back-up, one advantage to our paddle-powered craft was that when a few swimmers were getting way off track, we could safely move through and around other swimmers to go herd them back to the designated course. We could also trail closely behind any swimmers who appeared to be having more difficulty, instead of just standing off at a distance. So I did feel like we were “adding value” by being there, even if there was already decent coverage by the “official” Search and Rescue types in power boats. The other thing I would comment on was that I couldn’t stop thinking about those threads about how drowning victims sometimes just quietly slip under the water - - - if that had happened, all of us could have easily missed it, because there were so many heads, so many arms thrashing the water, that you just couldn’t keep a good count. Anyone participating in one of these events – if you think you’re about to have trouble, don’t be bashful – make yourself known! Rules are different in different races, but I found that in this one there was NO PENALTY for hanging on to a boat or buoy to rest if needed. You lose a little time, but you would NOT be disqualified for accepting on-water assistance, as long as the boat did not “tow” you towards your destination.

The person who was fourth coming out of the swim apparently smoked everybody on the cycle portion, coming in several minutes ahead of the second place person, and then held on to most of his lead during the run to finish about 2 or 3 minutes ahead of the second place finisher. Notice I didn't say "the rest of the pack", because there were several more minutes before # 3 came into sight, and the "pack" was pretty well spread out by then. It was interesting that his whole family, including father, and daughters, were there to support him. I overhead him thank them and say that he thought of them when he needed a “kick” to keep going up one of the harder hills. In contrast, nobody greeted #2 when he crossed the finish line except the race organizer. Family; Friends; think about it, it’s really very touching.

While the winner was clearly a serious athlete, I was also happy to see that some “Masters” competitors were making a very good showing too. But most of all, my hat goes off to someone who finished not last, but near the back of the pack on the swim. At first, when I saw him hit the beach at the end, I thought, “man, he’s too tired to even stand up!” as I watched him apparently crawling toward shore in the shallow water. It was a few seconds later that I realized what was really slowing him down – his two artificial legs were dragging behind him. Using his hands and some wooden push-bars, he dragged across the beach to his wheelchair to continue the race. I don’t know where he finished overall, but when I saw him last he had passed a number of others, using a special recumbent bike which he had to pedal with his hands and arms. He’s a hero in my book any way you look at it. If he happened to lose those legs in the service of our country, then triple up on that.

I can't make it tomorrow due to the Buffalo Clean up, so I'll be counting on one of you for the Sunday report!

[Edgar]

Well said Cowper, I agree totally!! Here is one of the shots from this morning:

[fryingsquirrel]

I'll be there by about 7 tomorrow morning, I plan on getting my boat wet well in advance of the start of the race. Cowper, I had those same thoughts about silent strugglers last year, but we had a good race where I only had one assist and a few "herding" incidents. It seems that the beginner swimmers need more assistance than the advanced athletes even though their course is shorter. Another salient point is that the "official" S&R types in their motorboats can't get any-where near as close to the swimmers as we safely can. I'll try to post how it went as soon as I can, but I've got my nephew's 4'th birthday party in the afternoon in LR so it may be later when I post. Here's to a fun and safe day on the water for all involved, boaters, swimmers, and their families.
Jon Ellwood
Conway

[fryingsquirrel]

Had a great morning out there, with lots of swimmer assists. Race went smoothly. I'll put up some pics and more details tomorrow. For now, I'm bushed, been a crazy day.
Jon Ellwood

[bmartin]

Sunday had a very inspirational athlete as well. One of the athletes competed with a single arm. I did not stay for all the competitiors to finish, but he was not the last one out of his swimming heat. I tip my hat to all that can do these sorts of events but it is truly impressive watching someone triumph over their personal challenges.

The support was utilized on Sunday by several swimmers. In the end I beleive all the swimmers finished their swims and their were several lost timing bands retrieved from the water by some of the boats.

[Tim Eubanks]

Thanks so much for helping out!