When @loneswimmer and I founded this Forum seven months ago, one of our primary aims was to celebrate and promote marathon swimming and marathon swimmers. While many impressive swims and swimmers have been discussed here (see the Cheering Section), we think it's worth celebrating a few of these achievements in a more meaningful, lasting way.
With that in mind, we're excited to announce the first annual MARATHONSWIMMERS.ORG Global Marathon Swimming Awards.
In the next couple days, there will be a call for nominations in three categories:
The Barra Award** - the marathon swimmer (male or female) with the most impressive body of work, considered as a whole, in 2012.
The "Call for Nominations" threads will go live in the next couple of days. Please DO NOT submit nominations to this thread.
GUIDELINES FOR NOMINATIONS
For Solo Swim of the Year nominations, please include as many details as possible about the swim you are nominating. The more details you include, the stronger the nomination. If there are details you don't know, other forum members are encouraged to fill them in.
Possible swim details include (but are not limited to):
Name of swimmer
Description of swim - body of water - start location - finish location - date - time to completion
Sanctioning organization (if applicable)
Name of independent observer (if no sanctioning organization)
Other supporting evidence, possibly including links to news reports, etc.
The following types of swims are not eligible to be nominated as Solo Swim of the Year:
Relays
Stage swims
Swims shorter than 10 kilometers
Swims without an independent observer
Uncompleted swims (DNF's)
Swims that violate the generally accepted rules of traditional marathon swimming, e.g., - Use of any swim costume or device that improves speed, buoyancy, or heat retention (beyond that provided by a single porous, textile swimsuit, single non-neoprene cap, goggles, grease, and earplugs). - Supportive contact with people or watercraft during the swim.
For the Barra Award, please include the following details in your nomination:
Name of swimmer
List of marathon swimming-related achievements in 2012. Not limited to solo marathon swims - could include relays, stage swims, organized races, community-building, leadership, "ambassadorship," etc.
Brief comments: Why does this person deserve this honor?
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER NOMINATIONS?
Nominations can be "seconded" by clicking "Like" on the nomination.
From the community-generated list of nominees, a committee of seven forum members (to be announced) will select five finalists in each category for the final vote. Consideration will be given to the community support behind each nominee, as measured by "likes."
Final voting will take place via private survey, and will begin as soon as the finalists are selected. Voting will remain open through December 31, and winners will be announced in the first week of January.
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST VOTE-RIGGING AND OTHER BIASES
Only forum members will be allowed to vote.
Members will be allowed to vote only once in each category.
No running vote totals will be announced.
If there is evidence of vote-rigging (unusual numbers of new registrations, seemingly for the sole purpose of juicing vote totals), the Admins reserve the right to limit voting eligibility to those members registered before today (October 20, 2012).
** The Barra Award is named after forum charter member @david_barra, who in a single year (2010) completed the English Channel, Catalina Channel, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, Maui Channel, Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, Ederle Swim, and the Boston Light Swim.
Yeah! A well deserved nod to David who should have won OWS of the year in 2010. It is helpful to have a relative who can tell an entire nation to vote for a swimmer... not blaming the swimmer, just saying.
By the way @Niek, thanks for the suggestion of the relay category. We're trying to keep it simple this year, but we'll definitely consider it for next year!
I want to clarify something that may not have been clear before.
You don't need to have every detail about a swim or swimmer to make a nomination. One of the main reasons we structured the nominations this way is that other forum members can chime in and fill in the blanks, if necessary.
By the same token - if you see a nomination that someone else makes, and you know additional details that haven't been mentioned yet - feel free to add to the story.
These awards are meant to be a collective, community-based process.
