2006 Madison Mile

Did you ever wonder what meet managers are doing before you arrive at the meet? Read Dave Parcell's meet dairy:

3:45 AM - Up to check the weather. There has only been some light rain overnight in Madison (not raining at the moment) And NO thunderstorms. Winds and seas are calm. As of this moment, everything is a GO!

Fog rolled in around 7:30 AM and we couldn't see past the first buoy on the mile course. The mini mile course was okay!

9:00 AM - Mini mile goes off as planned!! It was very exciting. Only 32 of the 55 kids registered showed up! No problems!

9:15 AM - I huddle with Mike Huffman, Peter Boucher and Dave Heller and we come up with a plan to shorten and alter the mile course to two laps of the mini course. Each swimmer would have to exit the water after the 1st lap and run 10 yds on the beach and re-enter the water for the next lap! We basically had 3 separate races, USA 15+, USA 11-14 and Masters. Each race had to be completed before the next one would start!

9:35 AM - Just as we are getting ready to finalize re-positioning of buoys and boats, thunder is heard. 30 minute delay required!!

10:05 AM - RACE BEGINS! Everything went perfect! Fans appeared to love it as they could easily see their kids the whole time and got to cheer them on as the exited the water after the first lap!!

So all in all, it seems that all were happy and very understanding of the issues we were facing. Safety was our #1 concern and we certainly made sure everyone was secure.

I would like to comment that I really appreciated the support, input and cooperation of Mike Huffman, Dave Heller and Peter Boucher. It was great knowing that the changes we came up with together had 100% support from all of us.

Thanks Dave and all those at Masters Swimming and the Shoreline Foundation that made this event possible for our athletes!

Please check this website for updates regarding this weekend's outdoor meets and Celebrate the Sport Cook-Out.

06.23.06 2:35 PM - The Cook-Out has been cancelled due to the potential for inclement weather. The Madison Mile and CDEV meets are still running as scheduled.

Dear Coaches, Swimmers & Parents:

I have been following the weather and the current marine forecast for Saturday morning is westerly winds of 10 knots and showers likely in the morning but then clearing! It also says there is a chance of thunderstorms.

A chance of a thunderstorm means only a chance! There have been tremendous storms this week in CT and Madison has not seen any of them.

What will happen Saturday morning in Madison? I don’t think Dr. Mel could even tell us what the weather will be at 9 am Saturday.

So the Madison Mile Swim is going to be held even if it is raining. There are only 2 instances where there will be a delay, postponement or cancellation.

Thunder & Lightning right around the event start time (if it is lightning at 6 am, it may not be at 8 or 9 am)
Rough seas that are deemed to be unsafe for the event. I will make that call along with consultation with the Madison Beach & Rec and the referee from CSI.

We will not do anything that is considered dangerous.

Postponing or canceling the event are the last options. The event is a large undertaking and hosting the event on another day may be difficult. We would need to coordinate with the town, the event timer, volunteers, etc. to see if we could find a date that would work.

What should you do?

You should plan on heading to Madison on Saturday morning as planned. I will post a message on my voicemail at 6 am to let you know if there is any change in plans. So if you have a doubt or would like to double check, please call my cell phone 203-606-4529 to pick up the latest message. [CSI will posted any messages on this website.]

Coaches, please pass this along to your teams!!

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!

Don’t worry, the weather will be perfect!!!

Dave Parcells,
Race Director