OWS

Second off, there are many people that are great pool swimmers and panic in open water - there is no bottom to put your feet down if you're not comfortable.  (You are however if needed allowed to stop and rest either on the buoy or one of the boats as long as they don't move you forward).   Doing an OWS before race day will make you more comfortable.

Plus, as mentioned, there is sighting.  There is no black line in the bottom of a lake to help you find your way.  Have you practiced sighting in the pool?

If you do go do an OWS before your tri, make sure you don't go alone.

Okay ... so you are probably asking yourself what you should do if you do not have the opportunity to do an open water swim prior to race day.

First, don't panic ... literally.  While there is no painted line on the bottom and you cannot see as clearly as you would in the pool, it is the same water that you are swimming in.

Second, relax ... literally. You'll be keyed up not only by swimming in 'new' water but because it is race day.  Dave Scott gave a little warm-up speech to a group of athletes right before my first Oly and imparted what I have found to be excellent advice (paraphrased as best as I can remember):

To his credit he was right ... and there was indeed a wall of folks who were struggling after the first 3-5 minutes of the swim.  Since then it is advice that I have followed for swim start.

Third ... remember to enjoy the race.  As goofy as it sounds, be sure to smile - you'll be amazed at the effect it has on the mental aspect of the game.

Lastly, welcome to BT and in particular to the Georgia forum.  Awesome group of people here to ask questions of and, hopefully, train with.

Here is my two cents worth.  I would not worry about anything except what Brian just quoted from Dave Scott.  I had breathing problems in my second and fourth tris because I started out too fast.   I was not nervous, or anxious, or anything.  I was feeling good... too good in fact because I got to the point that I was hyperventilated in each race.  As I said I never got nervous, but being in deep dark water and not being able to breathe is an uncomfortable feeling.

I figured Dave Scott's philosophy out on my own.  It would have been nice to hear it from someone before I did a tri.  Start out as slow as you can and think of nothing, but breathing.  In a sprint, you are not in the water very long anyway so unless you plan on winning, what does a minute or so matter.  Also what does it matter, if you are a bit off course in your first sprint for the same reason.  I usually just follow the crowd for the most part and check occasionlly to make sure the people I am following are not headed in a completely wrong direction.

The only other thing that I did not see mentioned was that since it is your first tri, you may want to start at the back of your group and off to the side a bit.  That way, you do not have to deal with people banging on you so much... or trying to swim over your back... or kicking you... or....

Great information from all! I definetly will be starting at the back of the swim pack. This is my first sprint and I just want to see what I need to work on during the off season to get ready for more sprints and maybe an oly in 2009. I am not overly concerned with time. After reading all the posts I think it would be good for me to do an OWS. I live in Smyrna. Anyone know a close lake? Altoona I guess would be the closest. Thanks again for all the great advice.

ditto on the advice about staying calm and just swimming at the start.  I had a panic attack in my first two sprint events, then learned to stay calm.  If you do panic, just breast stroke a little, get your head right, and get back at it. 

I am strong in the pool, but can't translate to OWS (yet).  Why? Sighting.  I can't tell you how important it is to translating the pool work.  If you do it wrong, 600 yard sprint distance swim can become 800 yards or more which kills your time and burns energy.  A little OWS will give you time to work on it.  50M pool swimming is very good for OWS practice.  

Have fun with your first....you never forget the first one.

Funny how this happens to more people than you would originally think ... and you came from a swimming background!

Another example of why BT rocks; it is a good place for someone like our friend here to learn from the mistakes we have made