Marathon swims on Lake Tahoe and in the San Francisco Bay now have an official governing body.
The Northern California Open Water Swimming Association has been established as the governing body sanctioning marathon swims in Northern California, including Lake Tahoe which will operate under the Lake Tahoe Open Water Swimming Association.
Since incorporating in March 2018, the board of directors has worked to ensure the marathon swimming community has the rules, defined courses, policies, procedures, professionalism, and governance that open water swimmers have long desired be implemented for marathon swims in the San Francisco Bay and Lake Tahoe. To date, both venues have been lacking an unbiased, official, dedicated non-profit organization defining, ratifying, and certifying open water swims.
As a California Public Benefits Corporation and 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, the unbiased and transparent organization includes member-driven committees for all aspects of marathon swimming in the region, including but not limited to Rules & Regulations, Courses, Safety, Applications, Observers, Swim Ratifications, and Appeals.
The seven member board of directors includes Patrick O’Malley Daly, Suzie Dods, Suzanne Heim-Bowen, Sylvia Lacock, Ranie Pearce, Bryan Temmermand, and Michael Tschantz-Hahn.
Collectively, this group has completed numerous marathon and channels swims including 6 solo English Channel crossings, 5 Manhattan Island circumnavigations, 4 Catalina Channel crossings, Strait of Gibraltar, North Sea, Cook Strait, Lake Tahoe Length and True Width swims. Two board members, Suzie Dods, and Ranie Pearce have achieved the notable ‘Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.’