> This brings to mind a little discussion I witnessed at a Q&A session >at a Florida kayak symposium late last year. Olympian Greg Barton was >fielding questions from the floor and someone asked why it is that when >they see film footage of Olympic paddling races none of the contestants >are ever wearing PFDs? Mr. Barton offered that the pools were highly >supervised, shallow, and under very controlled circumstances, and that >was that. The question had been answered. Actually, such activities are generally very closed watched and followed with boats for rescue if needed. There's another reason, though. Flatwater racing often occurs in summertime conditions. This is a sport with intense physical activity for a stretch of time. Heat production is very high. So high, that the insulation afforded by a pfd could cause overheating and subsequent heat stroke. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Mar 04 1999 - 22:26:10 PST
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