THANK YOUAfter serving the New York community for over twenty years, the founders of NYC Swim decided to, with mixed emotions, hang up their caps and googles. Organizing open water swims has always been a labor of love, and it is time to pass the proverbial baton to the next generation. In 1993, when Drury Gallagher and MISA decided to close up shop after a decade of service, our merry band of volunteers stepped up to fill the vacuum as we could not imagine the annual Manhattan Swim disappearing from the calendar. And now, swimmers in our region and around the world are fortunate, that New York Open Water has chosen to do the same and will continue to organize the swim around Manhattan under its own banner. At the height of our group's popularity, swimmers were afforded the opportunity to swim around the Statue of Liberty, Governors Island and of course, Manhattan. They could swim down the Hudson as part of the Little Red Lighthouse Swim; across the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge; and to Sandy Hook as part of the Ederle Swim. When we first began, swimming in New York's waterways was considered a laughable activity often met with much consternation. Now as we depart, the NYC metropolitan area is served by numerous groups which organize river based events annually. If you wish to experience New York from a completely unique perspective, then please check the following organization that schedule events annually, including but not limited to: CIBBOWS, NYC Triathlon, New York Open Water, New Amsterdam City Swim, River Pool at Beacon, Urban Swim, and Lady Liberty Sharkfest Swim. Why are we leaving the open water stage? After twenty plus years of missing family events, seeing dear ones pass and having key members of the team having to focus on their personal health challenges, it was time to close the book. With so many open water swim options available and more being planned on the horizon, our community's hunger for swims will easily be satisfied. A huge thanks to the fantastic volunteers who have assisted over the years; the events and the participant memories would not have happened without your assistance and amazing support. It was a great run. Peace. |