The 2023 SCAR Swim With Cold, Floods, Snow In The Desert

This winter season has seen a massive increase in rainfall and snow in the Western States of the US.

The water - flowing and frozen - will have an impact on the SCAR Swim Challenge, a 4-day stage swim in Arizona along four reservoirs created by the Salt River: Saguaro Lake on Day 1, Canyon Lake on Day 2, Apache Lake on Day 3, and Roosevelt Lake on Day 4.

A white blanket of snow has covered the area around this area, east of Phoenix, Arizona. The snow melt will drop the water temperature throughout the race course between April 26th and 29th.

This week - six weeks before the SCAR Swim - there was flooding in the Salt River that shut down recreational access [see here and below].

by AZFamily | Arizona News

Race visionary and race director Kent Nicholas [shown below with SCAR participant Roger Finch on right] reported, "SCAR 2023 is packed with an incredible lineup of swimmers and crew. Our Arizona winter weather has been very wet which means the desert should be in full bloom in April and the lakes will be at capacity. Water levels remain high, ranging from 93% to 95% in our first three lakes and Roosevelt is as high as I remember it at this time of year – 81%."
Nicholas laid out the rules of the swim:

• All starts and finishes are wet, meaning they begin in the water at the designated buoy line and end at a designated buoy line in the water. All swims are point to point.
• No swimmer shall use or be assisted by artificial aids of any kind that aid in body heat, propulsion or buoyancy.
• Swimmers are permitted to grease the body before a swim, use goggles, wear one non neoprene cap, wear one porous suit, neither of which may be designed either to retain body heat or aid in buoyancy.
• Swimmers electing to follow the traditional English Channel “Channel Swimming Association” attire rules will wear a standard swim costume “of a material not offering Thermal Protection or Buoyancy and shall be Sleeveless and Legless: “Sleeveless” shall mean the Costume must not extend beyond the end of the shoulder onto the Upper Arm; “Legless” shall mean that the Costume may not extend onto the Upper Leg below the level of the crotch.”
• No wetsuits are permitted unless specifically authorized by Event Director.
• During a swim, no supporting contact whatsoever with the swimmer shall be permitted by any person or object.
• Timing of swims: Swimmers will be at the buoy line at the start and begin swimming at the Starter’s command “Go.” The Roosevelt Swim will be a wet start without a buoy line. Upon touching the buoy line at the end of the swim timing will conclude for the swimmer.
• Swimmers are allowed a paddler as long as they are not ever used as physical support. You cannot hold onto the kayak to “rest” or feed or pee or any other perversity you can think of - tread water.
• No pace swimmers allowed.
• No solo swimmers under the age of seventeen unless with race director permission.
• Light sticks will be mandatory for the Roosevelt swim. A minimum of two light sticks per swimmer. Any swimmer without adequate light sticks will not be permitted to swim. Paddlers must also be adequately lit by light sticks or will not be allowed to paddle. SCAR SWIM officials will monitor and interpret “adequately lit” given the conditions present.
• No littering on or around the lakes. Every effort should be made to clean up the trash of previous visitors in order to improve the environment we enjoy and swim in.
• No audio players may be worn by swimmers or kayakers. It is important to hear unseen approaching motorboats or to take instruction from safety boats.
• Swimmers must be kind to their paddler, volunteers and smile for all photos.

SCAR Swimmers [all 4 lakes]

1. Aaron Houston, California
2. Abigail Bergman, California
3. Anna Delozier, Arizona with escort kayaker Andrew Delozier
4. Anna Zuccolotto Soto, Mexico with escort kayaker Edna Llorens
5. Camilla Shaffer, California
6. Catherine Breed, California
7. Charlotte Brynn, Vermont
8. Chris Cook, England
9. Claire Russell, Arizona with escort kayaker Eric Durban
10. Cornelia Bleul-Gohlke, California with escort kayakers Roz McCree, Sean Shannon, and Leah Taylor Kearney
11. Elizabeth Huesing, Colorado
12. Emmalee Swank, Arizona
13. Erika Beauchamp, Virginia with escort kayaker Kimberly Rapp
14. Fionnuala Walsh, Clare, Ireland
15. Haiden Freeman, Colorado with escort kayakers Joe Freeman and Kai Sakimoto
16. James Janik, Arizona
17. James McDonald, California
18. Jared Kenney, Arizona
19. Jenny Smith, Tennessee
20. Jessica Kennedy, Florida with escort kayaker John Hughes
21. Justine Brousseau, Quebec, Canada with escort kayaker Christian Martineau
22. Karen Zemlin, Minnesota with escort kayaker Kelly Lindblom
23. Kate Mason, United Kingdom
24. Kerianne Brownlie, California
25. Lauren Byron, New Jersey
26. Lura Wilhelm, California with escort kayaker Tenille Lenard
27. Mark Spratt, Indiana
28. Marysue Balazic, Washington with escort kayaker Lars Durban
29. Melanie Tyrell, United Kingdom
30. Michael Rice, Florida
31. Mike Peters, Arizona with escort kayaker Courtney Peters
32. Patti Bauernfeind McMurdie, California
33. Paula Yankauskas, Vermont with escort kayaker Valerie Yankauskas
34. Peter Hayden, California
35. Rilj Barber, Washington with escort kayaker Barbara Mangutz
36. Rod Watkins, Victoria, Australia with escort kayaker Patty Hermann
37. Shannon Keegan, Oregon with escort kayaker Gillian Burns
38. Sofia Cardenas, Mexico
39. Sophie Ryan, Dublin, Ireland
40. Stefan Reinke, Hawaii with escort kayaker Bill Goding
41. Steve Sutton, California with escort kayaker Abigail Fairman
42. Steven Munatones, California with escort kayaker Chris Morgan
43. Steven Sherry, Arizona
44. Sue-Ellen Booher, Maine
45. William Shipp, Maryland

SCAR Swimmers [1-2 lakes]

46. Alison Meadow, Arizona
47. Ashley Husmoe, Arizona
48. Cathy Harrington, California
49. Craig Collins, Minnesota
50. Dana Price, Arizona with escort kayaker Robin Scott
51. Henry Palmer, Arizona
52. Kristiana Fox, Arizona
53. Melissa Housmyer, Arizona
54. Mike Healey, Oregon
55. Michael T. Reilly, California
56. Susie Paul, Arizona with escort kayaker Sarah Speer
57. Terri Daugherty, Tennessee
58. Rob Forst, Texas

Location: Huntington Beach, CA, USA

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