
How to ratify a swim
Historically swimmers have taken one of several routes to get swims in the Bristol Channel ratified. There are several bodies and organisations that can do this for you but one of the aims of the BCSA was to provide an easy, local way for swimmers to ratify and hold and maintain a comprehensive list!
2022 will be the first year we are actively recording swims; as such we are offering this service for free to swimmers, swim the channel, ensure you have everything documented, send us the info and we will publish it all to the list! The committee will review all swims and subsequently ratify. We can provide an observer at cost but please make contact with us as early as possible so we can get it booked into the calendar.
Theres great news for anyone choosing to ratify with us; we have now been accepted by the MSF as the local body, as such they will pick up our ratifications and add your swim to the long swims database automatically! ILDSA will also pick up or ratifications for the Original Triple Crown so three for the price of...none!
In order to be elligible to the ratified list, swims must be completed strictly in the spirit of marathon swimming and to accepted channel swimming rules. MSF have developed a comprehensive set of rules, observer requirements and documentation requirements designed for swimmers swimming bodies of water with no goverining body OR, by a body like us wishing to adopt a globally accepted standard. Below is a list of links to the original documents on their site, we suggest you send some time reading through them before your swim!
If you wish to do a "non standard" swim (mainly wetsuit) we hold a list of non wetsuit swims and are happy to publish as much info on those swims as you can send us!
If you have already swum and ratified elsewhere, send us your certs, pics, docs!
Documents that need to be submitted:
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Summary sheet (see msf template).
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Swimmers report
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Observers report
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Observers log
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GPS track (we strongly suggest you have several devices on the boat capable of tracking for the full length of the swim)
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Pictures - start, middle, end - make sure your crew are snapping all day!!
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Video - again start, middle, end, the more the better. If you send us the raw clips we can put them together for you and add them to the report (see our youtube channel!)
Links to MSF templates and rules: