NYCkayaker blacklisted from MIMS, as well

[Nancy Brous]

i wrote this before i got the call from peter yesterday about his being
"fired" from the MIMS, but had not yet sent it.  i wanted to re-edit and
make sure it struck the right tone, because i was troubled over the idea of
sharing my own blacklist story.  i knew that mine was not the first,
either:  when i started as kayak coordinator i was given the name of someone
who was on the blacklist, meaning "not welcome" to participate as a paddler,
not because he posed a safety issue, but due to some personal conflict.  i
thought that strange at the time and just went ahead and allowed him to
register and paddle, anyway, without incident.  he's continued to be
involved in the MIMS since then--i guess more pressing personal issues with
other paddlers have eclipsed this "old" conflict and the organizers have let
this one drop.
after speaking to peter i decided people have the right to know about ALL of
the kayakers who have been un-volunteered by MIF.  so here is one more
story.  i'm sure there are others:

as far as swim supports, i plan to do the CIBBOWS, NYC Tri, and the x-hudson
Suellen posted, as usual, plus hopefully the beacon pool swim, depending on
dtbh and polo commitments--the summer weekends are booking up fast!

however, i no longer do MIF swims.  i was at the meeting paul mentioned, and
as bonnie said, paul described it pretty well.  i share paul's concerns over
safety and felt that the attitude taken toward paddlers' concerns, at that
time, was unsatisfactory to me and that i could no longer serve as
coordinator, asking my friends and fellow paddlers to volunteer their time
under the prevailing circumstances.

what i never did was formally boycott, or publicly speak out against the MIF
because i believe that getting people to use our local waterways
recreationally is a good thing for all of us for countless reasons.

still, from what i understand, the following season's races were very short
on paddlers.  the foundation had, at that dinner, alienated a core group of
people who had brought the paddlers out every year, and while none of us (as
far as i know) publicly criticized or boycotted MIF, the absence of our
recruiting had a dramatic affect on numbers.

personally, i was torn between warning fellow paddlers of my concerns and
letting everyone make her or his own decision--every paddler has her or his
own threshold for what is or is not acceptable.  and i never actively
discouraged anyone from volunteering:  if friends or people i'd worked with
on the swims before asked, i told them i was no longer doing those races
because of personal reasons (true) and schedule conflicts (also true).  when
pressed i filled people in on just what those personal reasons were:  issues
with the foundation and how they relate to kayakers.  in fact a few years
ago a friend came to me and told me he'd been asked to serve on a kayak
safety committee for the MIF, and asked me if i thought he should do it.  i
told him it was entirely up to him, that i'd had my concerns when i served
as the coordinator, but that if he thought he could help he should do it.

and i always missed the MIMS, in particular, and the comraderie of the
hudson river swimmers in general.

SO, this year a friend who had escorted a swimmer (i think the winning
swimmer from last year) was to be out of town for this year's MIMS.  she
asked me if i'd escort her swimmer.  i was flattered and excited, and
immediately agreed.  but when i contacted the MIF about it, requesting that
swimmer (who had also requested me), i was told by the contact person that
"Due to all the "personalities" involved, I am in the awkward situation of
asking that you please remain on the sidelines."  not only would they not
give me and the swimmer our requested partners, but I WAS BLACKLISTED
ALTOGETHER.

the foundation chose to deny an experienced kayaker who'd successfully
escorted swimmers for the MIMS several times (including a winning swimmer
one year), and coordinated kayakers and led countless other races for their
series the chance to help out because of some perceived personal issue--i
certainly never let them down on the water.

but what upsets me the most is the idea that for "the organizer", a personal
grudge takes precedence over swimmers' safety.  it is a shame that the
fantastic athletes who compete in the MIMS are subject to the organizer's
whims and insecurities.

many of you know me from swim support, initially, and know that i believe in
it and really enjoy it.  i think its fair for this community to know how i,
and the swimmer in question, were treated by the MIF.

see you on the water-
nancy