7/14/2024

Pan American Masters Games Triathlon

Cleveland, Ohio

Scott Orlando

Volunteer for kayak safety patrol for the swim leg and helping at the finish line.

Race Recap By Scott Orlando:

Seeing as this was the first time that the Pan American Masters Games were being held in the United States and in Cleveland, Ohio none the less I Knew that I wanted to be part of the games.   I decided to volunteer to help keep the swimmers safe and join the kayak water patrol.  I had to get up at 4:30 am and make my way to Cleveland for the 6:30 am start times.  I had a little bit of trouble getting to Edgewater Park because they closed many of the roads around the event area sooner than the publicised times.  My GPS finally got me to Edgewater Park where I found it very easy to get my kayak an equipment down to the beach and find a parking spot.   There where about 8 of us ready to patrol the waters in kayaks plus a crew of Edgewater Park Lifeguards, an inflatable motorized rescue boat, rescue jet ski, and two very intimidating large Police Marine Rescue ships standing by in the the deeper water just outside the course.

One look at my 16′ Stellar Multisport kayak and the person in charge of the kayak patrol assigned me the farthest buoy position from the swim start / finish area.  I didn’t mind and took it as a compliment.   We hit the water around 6:15 am.  The water conditions were extremely calm and flat.  The sun was just rising which made for some beautiful scenery that I was able to capture in some pre race pictures from my kayak.

At 6:30 am the first wave of swimmers hit the water.  It took some time for them to make it to my position located on the first right turn of the Olympic distance swim course.  The sprint distance swimmers turned right well before they got to my location.   As the swimmers reached my location they turned right around a buoy then headed North into deeper water making another right turn creating a large rectangle shaped course.  All of the Olympic swimmers did a great job navigating the calm waters of the course.  After the last Olympic swimmer passed the second right turn of the course I received instructions from the Police Rescue Marine Ship to leave my position and follow the last swimmer to shore.  Each kayaker did the same as the last swimmer passed their assigned location.

As I followed the last swimmers along the back side of the course there were several that requested assistance.  One by one they would grab the front of our kayaks and hold on for a quick break to adjust goggles, lower their heart rates or just ease their nerves.  The last few swimmers received a private escort of our kayaks making sure they got to shore safely.   I am happy to report that all swimmers that entered the water completed the swim course.

After all the swimmers were out of the water and headed to the transition to the bike leg I returned my kayak and gear to my car and headed to the finish line.  Mickey Rzymek put me to work handing out water bottles to the finishers.  I really enjoyed being at the finish line to congratulate the racers and greet them with a cold bottle of water.  It was amazing to see athletes from so many different countries compete as well as local athletes that I know and recognize from other races.

The event was well organized and I thought it was great how many race options and divisions there were including triathlon, duathlon, and aqua bike all offered in sprint and Olympic distances.  As a volunteer I received a t-shirt, water bottle, hat, bag, and plenty of snacks and drinks.   Volunteering for the Pan American Masters Games was a great experience!