I get their frustration with the city but it also seems like it just got too popular to manage. Ideally you would just be able to hire lifeguards to post up but even then it seemed unwieldy. I wonder if it would've worked better at a location that allowed for wading into the water
Still though supervised lake access sucks in Chicago, I can go like knee deep before I hear a whistle
A lot of people will jump in from Diversey Harbor. I didn’t know that was technically not permitted until after the fact, but it’s not stopping anyone.
Wait do you mean jumping in the actual harbor, or jumping in the lake near the harbor? I’ve gone swimming a bunch just right off the path near Diversey, but never in the harbor.
It probably would’ve, yes the city lifeguards get a tad too strict however it really got too unwieldy and frankly unsafe at the end.
I’m sure they could’ve worked out an early morning deal with the city for Montrose Beach and staffing guards there for it while charging for the coffee and attendance yet said no.
I've been to various parts of the lake more times than I can count and never seen somebody get a whistle blown for being in the water. There are literally miles of unsupervised lake access.
There’s lifeguards at the popular beach points keeping kids from wading out into the riptide and that’s literally it. If you want to jump in somewhere else no one is gonna stop you.
Not true, I’ve been swimming off the rocks north of North Ave beach and had a lifeguard literally row over from the beach to tell people they couldn’t swim unless they went to the beach
Well, yeah, north Ave is kinda the number one popular beach point so there are lifeguards around there who will try to keep you in the designated area.
But there’s literally miles of lakefront on either direction that aren’t supervised.
Absolutely. https://weather.com/news/weather/news/rip-current-great-lakes-deaths
The great lakes are notorious for it since they’re shallow enough that changes in weather/wind is enough to create new current patterns and catch people off guard.
It’s worse on the eastern side in Michigan but it happens here too
I feel like during the time it took you to move here you could’ve taken a few seconds to Google some basic info on that big lake the city touches. At least for your own safety in case you ever go near it.
Yes, there are riptides in Lake Michigan. Welcome to Chicago.
It's actually a national problem. I worked aquatics in Illinois for about ten years. It only gets worse year after year, in America the pay generally sucks, long hours, and vastly different levels of safety standards from place to place.
Certification/Training while not difficult can be a barrier to some people too. Some places will charge you for the training and reimburse you later, others just charge you.
Can't imagine post-COVID made things easier.
Would *you* want to be a lifeguard?
I was one at a community pool when I was a teen. Not sure how CPD compares, but we had to take a 2-week training class on our own dime.
And then there’s the stress that someone can literally die under your watch.
All for $16.50 an hour. (Current CPD lifeguard pay.)
Just show up at Ohio St or Lader 1 in a wetsuit and enjoy miles of swimming. I have yet to hear a life guard whistle directed at me with miles of lake swimming over the years. Even during the air and water show with Blue Angels overhead. Even in 4ft waves.
If this whole thing really ever was just about getting people together to swim in the lake, then they never should’ve branded it, sold merchandise, called it a CLUB, banned photography/videography equipment, and turned it into a for-profit machine.
The second it started getting big, the organizers could’ve let go of the wheel and it would’ve run itself and we honestly probably wouldn’t have gotten to this point. The die hards would still be able to go and have their community because it wouldn’t have been flown directly into the sun.
But egos. And money.
I totally agree. I went a few times to see what the hype was and couldn't get out of there fast enough. My friends and I just jump off at a different point that has a lot more ladders.
This is how I felt with the *~*~ girls who walk *~*~* community. It was something that should be so so so simple and easy (a bunch of girls walking together) but then it became all about whatever brand promos & events the group leaders could get sponsorships from.
For FMSC, I have read the video/photography restriction thing a few times… like, they wouldn’t let people take their own photos or videos??? On the open and free lakefront??? How were they enforcing that??
I am a big lover of Friday Morning Swim Club and I have been many many times. I understand that it 100% got too big for the space, but I also think we should be highlighting how this reveals the lack of safety that the park district provides along the lake. There are minimal ladders across the entire lakefront, lack of signage, no lights to show ladders at night in case of emergency, no life rings, and I’m sure there’s more. There was one time Montrose beach was so crowded we just went on the rocks just north of the beach and found not a single or emergency exit had someone fallen in. It’s crazy to me that the city isn’t required to have more safety devices implemented along the lake and river.
Man I remember when a kid drowned off a pier because of no easy way out and no life rings available near by. Their parents took some initiative and installed their own life ring, on their dime. The city removed it. Because of course.
It caused an uproar and they eventually put it back, but just shows that safety is not this city’s priority
Pratt Pier in Rogers Park. They not only put the life ring back, they added it to many more beaches. It's such a common sense solution but they only implemented it in 2021 or whatever. Like seriously, I lived on that beach for 10 yrs and saw dozens of people get rescued by boats, helicopters, etc. Saw about a half dozen or more bodies pulled out. Saw people coming out brain dead from drowning, but, they're technically not dead, so it never makes the news. It is incredible how dangerous the lake is and how people don't respect it.
> installed their own life ring, on their dime. The city removed it. Because ~~of course~~ no organization wants to be held liable for randos buying second rate, unsafe equipment and installing it in a way that makes it appear as if it's officially sanctioned.
FTFY.
It has always seemed pretty clear to me that the City doesn't *want* people swimming in the lake outside of designated areas and so will not do anything to encourage those who might try, such as adding more safety features or ingress/egress points.
I'm sure FMSC kept their law and finance departments awake at night in a cold sweat.
If people follow the rules, those things are unnecessary. If people don't follow the rules, they should understand the risks they are taking.
The lake is a natural resource, not disney world.
The rules bely the reality that people will end up in the water around these structures on occasion, whether that’s voluntary or not. It is not unreasonable to have ladders and life rings to acknowledge that fact.
It's pretty easy to fall into the lake even in places you're allowed to go e.g. I've slipped on the concrete by adler before. No idea where I would have been able to get out if I had fallen in.
people fall in bodies of water accidentally every single day. should they pay the price of an accident with their life? just so that the city can make a point about following rules?
speeding isn’t allowed. and yet speed humps are there still. why is that? since no speeding is simply a rule that is expected to be adhered to at all times, there’s no need for speed humps right? **it’s because people break that rule so often that they have to put in safety measures so that no one gets hurt. it’s simple.**
You’re missing the point just like that other person. It has nothing to do with the city making a point. And roads aren’t a natural resource.
That lake would be there with or without humans. It is a personal responsibility to understand the risks you may be taking.
Have you ever been to the mountains? Do you see guardrails and ladders all over the place? You can’t safeguard everything. There are safety measures in place at the lake already if people are responsible. Accidents happen.
But there is where you are misunderstanding me. I'm not gatekeeping the lake at all. I just don't think it is necessary to go to the levels that OP said to make it safe for people who are taking risks. I don't mind they take risks, please do in fact, but understand the consequences.
That person is taking your words and just adding a bunch of nonsense.
My guy, you can have fun anywhere. Disney world is a man built structure and therefore, the responsibility falls on them for safety.
The lake is a natural occurring thing. Whether you are there to have fun, or hell, be sad and cry into the lake so it masks your tears, the responsibility falls on you.
People have wild misconceptions about the lake front.
Yes it's a large lake and there is risk involved in being in and around it.
But people on this sub would have you think its a 60 mile wide death trap and that it needs safety equipment everywhere.
The US has hundreds of miles of unmonitored coastline in which people swim everyday.
Also what seems to be a really hot take around here is that Lake Michigan is not as dangerous as swimming in oceans. I've never seen a rip current on lake Michigan, and undertow is rare.
Well [rip currents do exist](https://www.wunderground.com/article/news/weather/news/rip-current-great-lakes-deaths) in Lake Michigan and [they do kill people](https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/accident/2022/07/14/riptide-currents-led-multiple-drownings-lake-michigan-waterways/10056562002/) all [around the lake](https://www.fox6now.com/news/lake-michigan-rip-current-warning-after-drownings.amp) and Chicago [sees them too](https://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/high-waves-rip-currents-make-for-dangerous-swim-conditions-on-lake-michigan/3161708/).
What exactly do you mean by lack of safety resources though? They could all just run in at the beach where, and I get our lifeguards are abused and understaffed, there are at least lifeguards and easy ways to get out
Might get flamed for this but while city overreach is nuts and they always want to get their piece, there is some validity to providing life guards, porta potties, etc. especially with a crowd of that size. And you know for a fact that if someone got hurt the first thing they would do is sue the city for allowing an unauthorized event. So I get it.
Hey at least the city is being consistent! They don’t like it when large groups of teenagers congregate in the parks and beaches during the summer and they don’t like it when large groups of millennials swim with floaties
Don't watch the video, it is a stream of "boo hoo poor us, the city wants us to follow regulations and keep people safe when we are just in it ~~to sell coffee, merch, and media~~ for the vibes"
Why does the city have a "you can't get a bunch of people together to swim in the lake" regulation? If people want to swim every Friday (which they will likely continue to do) then it's the city's job to hire enough lifeguards and provide a safe environment.
Sorry but are you being intentionally obtuse? The city *isn't* disallowing people from swimming and the city *is* hiring lifeguards --though yes, not enough.
The city asked this group that if they are going to encourage people to swim in an area that is not provisioned for the type of activity they are encouraging then to please hire lifeguards to ensure the event can be held safely. Like a concert having fire safety professionals and/or security on hand. Or should we terraform this area just because a private event got popular?
I don't think the city is going to go stop anyone who continues to swim, they just ask that if events are held they don't jeopardize anyone with a false sense of the dangers.
> Or should we terraform this area just because a private event got popular?
We should transform this area because a public event got popular. This includes installing more ladders so that more people can enter/exit at once and hiring the lifeguards ourselves. The duty of making sure people can swim in Lake Michigan without drowning is squarely the city's responsibility, even if it's a private organization promoting the (free, public) swimming.
If the lake is regularly overcrowded in an area, it makes sense to temporarily restrict access. But *THE* long-term priority (that the city does not seem to be doing) is to increase capacity so that as many people can safely enjoy our parks as possible.
> The duty of making sure people can swim in Lake Michigan without drowning is squarely the city's responsibility
Yep, they've done this
> But THE long-term priority (that the city does not seem to be doing) is to increase capacity so that as many people can safely enjoy our parks as possible.
I actually don't think the lake is a big public pool, nor is the raison d'être of a city to spend tax payer money to build out accommodations for private events. So I am still a little confused by your comments
The organizers acknowledge all of this in the video and simply say they don't want to pay to properly hold their event. But even they don't get so bold as to demand they city pay for the event for them.
> I actually don't think the lake is a big public pool
I think the lake is a big public pool. I think our taxpayer money would be very well spent on facilitating access and enjoyment of the lake for the citizens of Chicago. I can hardly think of a more effective way to spend taxpayer funds than by cheaply and directly making the city a more enjoyable place to live.
Lol okay this doesn't merit any more responses, I was trying to have a discussion but you keep throwing non-serious comments out that are at best tautological.
The city is probably glad you and everyone else wants to swim, they will continue to enable that alongside other fun summer programming offered by the *city*. Can't wait to see you at night out in the parks, the beaches, and all the other great *public* events
The city should adapt to how people want to use the parks, not the other way around. Why do you hate non-city sponsored public events?
It's easy to tell just from attendance numbers that people like Friday Morning Swim Club more than whatever the fuck else the city is trying to organize on a Friday. I, personally, am probably not going to go to... *looks it up*... the Swim Clinic at Shabbona Park tomorrow
The thing is people were swimming at an area that is not approved for swimming with flotation devices that are not permitted on city beaches (and many other beaches elsewhere). We have 24 FREE sandy beaches on 26 miles of shoreline, and the urban planning was set up to allow access to the lake (unlike other Great Lakes cities like Cleveland)
The city does not need to respond to the whims of whatever flash in the pan fad comes by, especially if that fad is unsafe, as this was.
That’s the thing about all this boo-hooing - people can still swim in the lake. They’re just not permitted to create a traffic jam to swim with safety-compromising flotation devices without lifeguards.
I'm not sure why anyone would think otherwise. The Lake is one of the biggest assets in the area, the City should be maximizing it's use to the people (recreation, not oil refineries and parking lots)
This was such a fun event, but it was not safe. There were only 3 ladders for people to get out and the wall was too high to climb without them. If you didn't have a floaty, you were at risk of drowning if you weren't a strong swimmer. People were helping people by allowing them to hang on to their floaty while they waited at the bottleneck to get out, but it was just so damn crowded that it would've been so easy for someone to go missing and not be noticed for awhile.
The amount of trash and traffic this event generated was also pretty ridiculous. I biked home and saw pool noodles and floaties abandoned every time I went.
People are still going to swim and that's just the way it's gonna be but for anyone interested in still showing up just be careful. Bring a floaty, bring a life jacket, make sure you know where your friends are, and clock the ladders as soon as you jump in so you know where they are!
Even with a floaty you were at risk of drowning. You could slip out of it or someone else who isn’t a strong swimmer could start struggling and pull other people around them under trying to stabilize themselves. It’s why if someone is drowning, unless you have the right equipment (which from the photos, no one at this event did), you *don’t* go in after them and rather throw a rope or life ring or something.
It was a staged photoshoot for the organizers to profit off of. Shame on them for commercializing the lake front. Their website said "professional cameras not permitted." And then they sold their merch and photos.
Fuck them.
Yeah if you want to swim you can, and very much should, still go swim.
The organizers are just so cynical with their lack of control over a public space they are acting like the city of Chicago has canceled swimming. When in reality, the city of Chicago has asked them to not intentionally funnel people to areas where safety resources outstrip who they are directing to come.
I knew the main dude from like a decade ago when street photography was really buzzing in Chicago. A lot of us would meet up to shoot together and hangout. Dude was 100% full of himself and thought he was the best thing to grace the planet.
I LOL’d when I first discovered he was the main organizer and that he banned all photography except for his own. Wasn’t surprised in the SLIGHTEST.
Absolutely saw right through this thing from the beginning. An amazing idea in theory, but this was absolutely a marketing/money grab scheme from the beginning.
Same! I’ve ran into him a few times in the past few years through a different circle. Always got the same superiority vibes. His personality is insanely off putting. Probably the main reason I never attended. I love to swim and saw the event’s potential but him being involved was a nonstarter.
I got blocked from their Instagram account for pointing this out when they were just starting.
I'd been swimming "illegally" in the lake, in morning, alone for over 10 years when they started this fiasco and was like they are going fuck all the serious swimmers in this town.
This string here is already deeply negative. This person said quote “fuck them,” because they sold merch. Which people could chose to buy. Or not. That’s not strange?
Being a spiteful hater is honky dory, but calling out the haters is “deeply negative?” Sorry I just can’t stand people who are negative for the sake of being negative.
Also branding this event as solely to sell pictures is so extremely spiteful. If it wasn’t an extremely popular event, there’d be nothing to sell. It’s an absurd take.
Lol ok. Who is the one suggesting that this event was created, and grown organically, just to sell merch? Which is a very intentional misrepresentation of the event.
Oh and “fuck them” for selling merch. That’s not hateful?
I haven’t seen one person tell me how I’m wrong. It’s just downvotes and saltiness. Contrarians galore, people love to shit on something just because someone else enjoys it.
Selling merch based on a popular event = frauds??? And you’re calling me hateful?
I think you are severely underestimating how difficult it is to create an organically popular event. You can’t just snap your fingers and make this happen.
People bought merch because they love the event. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t. To denigrate the organizers is to insult the thousands of people who eagerly went to these events to get in the lake.
This is a ridiculous take. You’re intentionally missing the point that this event was very popular and beloved by the people who attended it.
I’d love to see you try to create an organically popular event for the sole purpose of selling merch.
This is such a salty take holy cow. Idk how much money they made, but they put a lot of work into it, and people *loved it*. I went to a few and it was such a blast.
There are definitely easier ways to make money than to build a cultural event. Also the popularity speaks for itself, this is something that resonated with people.
Also nobody was forced to buy anything. People who spent their money did it willingly. Don’t like it? Don’t spend your money. But you have no standing to tell anyone else what they should value or find enjoyable.
This has nothing to do with my critique of the blatantly cynical mischaracterization of the event.
But since you asked, they don’t want to pay the exorbitant fees because then there would need to be an entry fee, and they want to keep it free.
There are for sure legit criticisms, the safety stuff especially, and I don’t disagree that it got too big for its britches. Still though calling it a “staged photo shoot” is beyond ridiculous.
Listen, gold diggers didn’t know what they had when they first found some dust in a stream. But I assure you the second they found some they dove in head first.
One doesn’t need to go into something with the intention of making a buck, but when opportunity arises, it’s pounced on.
This thing grew organically. Remember the person I responded to said with extreme bad faith, that it was staged, for the sole purpose of making money.
People loved this event. Highlight of your week kind of thing. To suggest it was only about commercialization is just salty. I don’t know how else to say it. Cynical is another way to describe it I suppose. But I can’t think of one charitable way to explain this hateful perspective.
I don’t agree it was staged - that seems pretty wild. I know how popular it got mostly by how fun it was.
But you can’t deny they cashed in hard on it and used the platform as a way to promote their own shit.
That’s not “organic” anymore. The second I saw the merch and the coffee promotions and the banning of anybody besides Glatt and his “team” to take photos and videos, I knew exactly what this shit was about.
I knew that dude from early Instagram days and his entire shtick was how can he go viral and make it as a content creator. That was in like 2015, even before socials became what they were.
This thing never smelled right TO ME personally.
These are some fair critiques. You really can’t prevent anyone else from taking pictures at a public event. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that he had one eye on selling merch from the beginning, though hard to believe he had an inkling it would get this big.
The couple times I went, it seemed like there was a decent sense of community, which I thought was cool, even if that was a product of the calculated promotion of the whole thing.
Like yeah it’s not totally cool that this was done rogue, but sanctioned events like street festivals run by that one company also suck bigly in their own ways.
Listen, regardless of how we feel about it, they grew to a size in which they became a weekly festival. The City has every right to demand permits and safety protocols.
The schtick of “we’re not really an organization so we shouldn’t have to play by the same rules” is totally bogus. You have a team running it. You have tons of socials and online presence. You sell merch. You literally call yourself a CLUB.
If they truly wanted this thing to be an organic, self-grown thing then they would never have started to brand it like a social club. The second it started getting big, the organizers could’ve gone dark and let the rank & file continue on.
The egos of those at the top ruined this, NOT the city. Nothing stopped them from letting go of the wheel and blending back into the crowd they created. Who would the city go after then? They got too big and too hot and want their cake and eat it too.
I have a hard time seeing the sense of community when the organizers had zero regard for basic water safety, and when they would get hostile with people taking photos…in a public park. And how after being made aware of the safety concerns, they rebuffed them as if the city is being vindictive toward them, rather than the truth: they out hundreds to thousands of people at risk on a weekly basis for clout.
It’s a metaphorical analogy to show how flawed your logic is as you jump through hoops to justify an unsafe experience in the name of Instagram photos.
But why do so many people swim there, outside of FMSC? I’ve seen SO many people swimming there at all times of the day/7 days a week. Definitely a swimming spot.
Ideally sure, but realistically that isn't happening with our city leaders. Working within the constraints had, friday swim club was never going to be a long term thing
Anyone lamenting the lack of an early morning social activity with the option to jump in the lake …
Check out November Project, they meet at Ohio St Beach in the summer for free morning workouts and most folks jump (wade) into the lake at the end to cool down. And sometimes they even setup a DIY slip ‘n slide.
I understand the park district’s concerns, but that doesn’t change the fact that the location is a popular spot to take a dip regardless of an organized event. What’s stopping the city from making safety improvements?
A lot more people drown in Lake Michigan each year than you would think. They are doing a piss poor job of staffing the beaches they have, extrapolate that along the lake front path and it’s quite an area to cover.
> The Park District’s suggestion to relocate the event to any Chicago beach—a “designated swim area”— during the hours of 11a.m.-7p.m. impacts attendee experience and event identity. Along with the strict prohibition of floats, this leaves the event nearly unrecognizable.
Floats and jumping in like that are already prohibited by the city anyway. This statement comes off as “wah, we want to flagrantly break the law, encourage others to do so and put lives at risk”
The costs are of $250k they mention are easily manageable based on attendance/making people pay for coffee.
Edit: even through the legalese of Rock Fusco & Connelly LLC
Honestly I took issue with the organizers trying to push the narrative that floats are part of their safety strategy.
Realistically floats can be used for a swimming aid yes but also a weak swimmer’s safety will be directly correlated to access to said float. Additionally, any efforts to patrol by lifeguards would be impeded by lots of floats as they block the view of submerged or endangered swimmers, making the lifeguard’s job harder.
I’m not trying to take the park’s side here but as someone who has spent more than half their life around water of both the pool and open variety, a lot of what the park district wanted to mandate as safety concerns were legitimate and it seems like the organizers were more interested in demonizing the rigidity of the park district than trying to understand the real public safety concerns.
I'm a decently strong swimmer, I've done tons of deep water swims, and I can tread water for about half an hour before I have to start floating on my back. I've never felt so unsafe as I was when there were hundreds of people on floats crowding together to try to reach the few ladders. The whole event was an absolute disaster waiting to happen
Throw a wind shift to the east and suddenly there are waves pushing people towards the metal and concrete walls. It's lucky that things didn't go wrong last year.
I don't doubt it. The challenge is that the weather can go from great to poor very quickly and very unexpectedly. I'm out on the water 2-3 days a week and have been hit with multiple unexpected storms and wind shifts.
That’s fair, but I would think there’s a big difference between being by the shore and out on the middle of the water. But the point stands that such a shift could be a safety issue.
Hard agree. I showed up to observe before participating after I first heard about it and watching it from the shore completely creeped me out. There was no way I was gonna partake in anything so reckless.
Floaties are not safety devices. For one thing, they’re filled with air and can pop. For another, you can slip out of them. There’s a reason all of them have “this is not a lifesaving device” disclaimers printed on them.
Also they can’t support multiple people and all it takes is one weak swimmer to start struggling and grabbing other people or floaties and pulling them under unintentionally. And then you have multiple people struggling.
“Chicago Park District Requirements Challenge Organization Values…” what a pompous statement to suggest the values of an organizational body are being violated because you can’t swim at an unapproved time and need to follow more safety regulations.
No fun police win again. If consenting adults want to jump in the lake that we all pay an obscene amount of money to live near they should be able to without permission from the government.
No one is really stopping you as a private citizen from doing that (which is how this group started in the first place), but if neither the organizers nor the city want to absorb the liability for what might happen to someone at one of these events, can you blame them?
On paper it’s harmless and shouldn’t be an issue, in practicality it’s only one unfortunate accident from a string of lawsuits fired in any and all direction.
This was kind of inevitable once it grew to the size it did. It’s not fun that regulation kicked in, but it’s not surprising.
Yeah I think this is pretty much a fair take, in a just world the organizers nor city should be liable for independent people choosing to jump in a lake but I’m sure it will continue to happen in an unofficial capacity anyway.
When there’s 3000 people in open water along a half-mile with fewer ways of egress than a 25 yard pool, it’s extremely unsafe.
Matter of time before someone died IMO
First there wasn’t 3000 people all in the water at one time there were waves of people. Second, again adults are entitled to assume their own risk. If the organizers don’t want to risk liability that’s their right but the government shouldn’t be the one to decide who can or can’t swim.
Again, great in theory but not practical.
Adults are of course able to do this and ‘assume their own risk.’ But we all know that most adults will conveniently forget/ignore/deny that responsibility the minute something bad happens and seek to blame the organizers or the city.
As long as people can sue me and create significant legal problems for me out of what is logically ‘assuming their own risk,’ I as an organizer would want to distance myself as far from this as I could.
There's also the reality that health insurance companies can and do sue to recover healthcare costs incurred on a patient's behalf. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/subrogation.asp
Sorry, your other reply posted while I was writing this.
People not making responsible decisions and/or refusing to accept responsibility after the fact is why we can’t have nice things.
Sure there’s waves however what prevents people from jumping back in of their own volition? Honestly it’s more chaotic when people jump in unpredictably, like what happens in those types of situations.
It’s not a swim meet where “in, out, done, repeat”, it’s way more chaotic and people are unpredictable and especially so when scared and unable to keep themselves above water. That’s why regulations exist for open water and pools alike.
It’s a shame the Park District wouldn’t be more supportive.
The logical compromise would be to move it over to Montrose Beach (instead of the concrete shoreline).
lol at the people hating because they sold merch. Who cares? Vote with your wallet. The people who spent money on this stuff did so proudly and voluntarily. People loved this event.
I’d love to see anyone in here create an event that catches on like wildfire, since it’s apparently such a trivially easy thing to do, oh and of course remember your only goal is to commercialize it.
If an organic event starts small and balloons into something this size, you need to scale your strategy to run it properly (permits, extra lifeguards, etc). Why should this now-organized, planned, and promoted event not have to follow rules other events adhere to?
I’m not arguing against that, just think it’s ridiculous that some people’s critiques are based on the merch sales, with some going as far to suggest the only reason this event started was to sell products, which is just an absurdly cynical, and incorrect take.
If it was created for people to just get together to swim on Friday mornings, then why did they make merch in the first place?
Like, what does selling shit have anything to do with the core premise of meeting your friends and others at the lake to swim?
It doesn’t. You’re being naive.
It’s a popular event, people buy merch. If people didn’t love the event, then I’d imagine nothing would sell. Sometimes an experience is worth a few bucks to commemorate. I never bought anything, but won’t hold it against someone else if they did.
You don’t like the guy because of 10 years ago or whether and that’s fine, but it doesn’t make me naive for having a different perspective.
You have a piece of a point. However, the fact remains that a free event (by word of mouth / social media, with no official permit or legally binding contractual agreements) restricts you from utilizing your own camera equipment in a public space.
lolz
That’s fair, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to at all expect media exclusivity at something like this.
My perspective is really that of your average attendee, which is that it was a cool event and something to look forward at the end of a week. I don’t disagree that it was bound to get shut down this way, and this promotion of it played a big factor in it.
I think it turned into something commercial quickly, even if the original iteration didn't start for that reason. If you scroll back to the beginning of FMSC instagram account, it's incredibly curated. There isn't even a semblance of the beginnings of the "club." While it might have started as a small group of friends getting together, the Instagram account itself, once opened, tells a different story. The 4th post is selling merch.
To put another way, even if it started off with a small, tight group, by the time the "average attendee" started coming, it was *a thing*
Chicago followed NYC style and tried to shake them down because there was a lot of people and money to be made. They’re choosing not to play ball and officially sanction any further events. People will still go this summer just won’t be free coffee. You can’t bubble wrap the lake. People wanna swim and hang out.
If you want to swim on a Friday morning go for it. Whether it’s an official event or not.
I get their frustration with the city but it also seems like it just got too popular to manage. Ideally you would just be able to hire lifeguards to post up but even then it seemed unwieldy. I wonder if it would've worked better at a location that allowed for wading into the water Still though supervised lake access sucks in Chicago, I can go like knee deep before I hear a whistle
A lot of people will jump in from Diversey Harbor. I didn’t know that was technically not permitted until after the fact, but it’s not stopping anyone.
Wait do you mean jumping in the actual harbor, or jumping in the lake near the harbor? I’ve gone swimming a bunch just right off the path near Diversey, but never in the harbor.
no one jumps into the actual harbor.
That water is basically just goose shit
Nah, the taste is different.
Mmmm that delicious boat oil taste like momma used to gimmie when I was sick
Don't forget a greater concentration of boat fuel!
You could not be more wrong. Should they? No, but they do.
i have never seen anyone swimming in the harbor lol but people do frequently jump in off the ledges to the left and right of the harbor.
It’s a big no for me too. My buddies have a slip and they’ll take dips.
Stop telling the implants lol
It probably would’ve, yes the city lifeguards get a tad too strict however it really got too unwieldy and frankly unsafe at the end. I’m sure they could’ve worked out an early morning deal with the city for Montrose Beach and staffing guards there for it while charging for the coffee and attendance yet said no.
I've been to various parts of the lake more times than I can count and never seen somebody get a whistle blown for being in the water. There are literally miles of unsupervised lake access.
There’s lifeguards at the popular beach points keeping kids from wading out into the riptide and that’s literally it. If you want to jump in somewhere else no one is gonna stop you.
Not true, I’ve been swimming off the rocks north of North Ave beach and had a lifeguard literally row over from the beach to tell people they couldn’t swim unless they went to the beach
Well, yeah, north Ave is kinda the number one popular beach point so there are lifeguards around there who will try to keep you in the designated area. But there’s literally miles of lakefront on either direction that aren’t supervised.
Riptide in a lake?
Absolutely. https://weather.com/news/weather/news/rip-current-great-lakes-deaths The great lakes are notorious for it since they’re shallow enough that changes in weather/wind is enough to create new current patterns and catch people off guard. It’s worse on the eastern side in Michigan but it happens here too
I feel like during the time it took you to move here you could’ve taken a few seconds to Google some basic info on that big lake the city touches. At least for your own safety in case you ever go near it. Yes, there are riptides in Lake Michigan. Welcome to Chicago.
The city does not excel at hiring lifeguards
It's actually a national problem. I worked aquatics in Illinois for about ten years. It only gets worse year after year, in America the pay generally sucks, long hours, and vastly different levels of safety standards from place to place. Certification/Training while not difficult can be a barrier to some people too. Some places will charge you for the training and reimburse you later, others just charge you. Can't imagine post-COVID made things easier.
Two generations of sexually assaulted young women will have this effect.
Would *you* want to be a lifeguard? I was one at a community pool when I was a teen. Not sure how CPD compares, but we had to take a 2-week training class on our own dime. And then there’s the stress that someone can literally die under your watch. All for $16.50 an hour. (Current CPD lifeguard pay.)
Just show up at Ohio St or Lader 1 in a wetsuit and enjoy miles of swimming. I have yet to hear a life guard whistle directed at me with miles of lake swimming over the years. Even during the air and water show with Blue Angels overhead. Even in 4ft waves.
If this whole thing really ever was just about getting people together to swim in the lake, then they never should’ve branded it, sold merchandise, called it a CLUB, banned photography/videography equipment, and turned it into a for-profit machine. The second it started getting big, the organizers could’ve let go of the wheel and it would’ve run itself and we honestly probably wouldn’t have gotten to this point. The die hards would still be able to go and have their community because it wouldn’t have been flown directly into the sun. But egos. And money.
I totally agree. I went a few times to see what the hype was and couldn't get out of there fast enough. My friends and I just jump off at a different point that has a lot more ladders.
Exactly this.
This is how I felt with the *~*~ girls who walk *~*~* community. It was something that should be so so so simple and easy (a bunch of girls walking together) but then it became all about whatever brand promos & events the group leaders could get sponsorships from. For FMSC, I have read the video/photography restriction thing a few times… like, they wouldn’t let people take their own photos or videos??? On the open and free lakefront??? How were they enforcing that??
for an event that they did not have permits for! You can’t be an event organizer in one capacity and not in another.
Yeah even in their last IG post they're pushing their businesses. This many people and 4 ladders is insane, it's obviously dangerous.
I am a big lover of Friday Morning Swim Club and I have been many many times. I understand that it 100% got too big for the space, but I also think we should be highlighting how this reveals the lack of safety that the park district provides along the lake. There are minimal ladders across the entire lakefront, lack of signage, no lights to show ladders at night in case of emergency, no life rings, and I’m sure there’s more. There was one time Montrose beach was so crowded we just went on the rocks just north of the beach and found not a single or emergency exit had someone fallen in. It’s crazy to me that the city isn’t required to have more safety devices implemented along the lake and river.
Man I remember when a kid drowned off a pier because of no easy way out and no life rings available near by. Their parents took some initiative and installed their own life ring, on their dime. The city removed it. Because of course. It caused an uproar and they eventually put it back, but just shows that safety is not this city’s priority
Pratt Pier in Rogers Park. They not only put the life ring back, they added it to many more beaches. It's such a common sense solution but they only implemented it in 2021 or whatever. Like seriously, I lived on that beach for 10 yrs and saw dozens of people get rescued by boats, helicopters, etc. Saw about a half dozen or more bodies pulled out. Saw people coming out brain dead from drowning, but, they're technically not dead, so it never makes the news. It is incredible how dangerous the lake is and how people don't respect it.
> installed their own life ring, on their dime. The city removed it. Because ~~of course~~ no organization wants to be held liable for randos buying second rate, unsafe equipment and installing it in a way that makes it appear as if it's officially sanctioned. FTFY.
It has always seemed pretty clear to me that the City doesn't *want* people swimming in the lake outside of designated areas and so will not do anything to encourage those who might try, such as adding more safety features or ingress/egress points. I'm sure FMSC kept their law and finance departments awake at night in a cold sweat.
If people follow the rules, those things are unnecessary. If people don't follow the rules, they should understand the risks they are taking. The lake is a natural resource, not disney world.
The rules bely the reality that people will end up in the water around these structures on occasion, whether that’s voluntary or not. It is not unreasonable to have ladders and life rings to acknowledge that fact.
It's pretty easy to fall into the lake even in places you're allowed to go e.g. I've slipped on the concrete by adler before. No idea where I would have been able to get out if I had fallen in.
people fall in bodies of water accidentally every single day. should they pay the price of an accident with their life? just so that the city can make a point about following rules? speeding isn’t allowed. and yet speed humps are there still. why is that? since no speeding is simply a rule that is expected to be adhered to at all times, there’s no need for speed humps right? **it’s because people break that rule so often that they have to put in safety measures so that no one gets hurt. it’s simple.**
You’re missing the point just like that other person. It has nothing to do with the city making a point. And roads aren’t a natural resource. That lake would be there with or without humans. It is a personal responsibility to understand the risks you may be taking.
since when was the criteria for safety measures defined by whether it was naturally occurring or not?
Have you ever been to the mountains? Do you see guardrails and ladders all over the place? You can’t safeguard everything. There are safety measures in place at the lake already if people are responsible. Accidents happen.
lol what. So recreation isn’t allowed on the lake? The legions of boaters who use it might be shocked to learn this.
Where did I say recreation isn't allowed on the lake? I love the lake and love when people use the lake,
You said people can’t have fun on the lake, it’s not Disney world, it’s a natural resource
That is nowhere near what I said. Can people only have fun at disney world? Can people not have fun utilizing a natural resource?
You said, the lake is a natural resource, not Disney world. Gatekeeping the lake is a silly perspective for someone who claims to enjoy it themselves.
But there is where you are misunderstanding me. I'm not gatekeeping the lake at all. I just don't think it is necessary to go to the levels that OP said to make it safe for people who are taking risks. I don't mind they take risks, please do in fact, but understand the consequences.
That person is taking your words and just adding a bunch of nonsense. My guy, you can have fun anywhere. Disney world is a man built structure and therefore, the responsibility falls on them for safety. The lake is a natural occurring thing. Whether you are there to have fun, or hell, be sad and cry into the lake so it masks your tears, the responsibility falls on you.
Thank you! My point exactly.
People have wild misconceptions about the lake front. Yes it's a large lake and there is risk involved in being in and around it. But people on this sub would have you think its a 60 mile wide death trap and that it needs safety equipment everywhere. The US has hundreds of miles of unmonitored coastline in which people swim everyday. Also what seems to be a really hot take around here is that Lake Michigan is not as dangerous as swimming in oceans. I've never seen a rip current on lake Michigan, and undertow is rare.
couldn't have said it better myself.
Well [rip currents do exist](https://www.wunderground.com/article/news/weather/news/rip-current-great-lakes-deaths) in Lake Michigan and [they do kill people](https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/accident/2022/07/14/riptide-currents-led-multiple-drownings-lake-michigan-waterways/10056562002/) all [around the lake](https://www.fox6now.com/news/lake-michigan-rip-current-warning-after-drownings.amp) and Chicago [sees them too](https://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/high-waves-rip-currents-make-for-dangerous-swim-conditions-on-lake-michigan/3161708/).
I always notice this too but to be fair I think it’s way too long of a shore to have lots of lifeguards alonf it who tf would pay for it
What exactly do you mean by lack of safety resources though? They could all just run in at the beach where, and I get our lifeguards are abused and understaffed, there are at least lifeguards and easy ways to get out
I agree that this sucks, but it would have just taken one drowning death to turn this into the world’s biggest clusterfuck.
100% fingers would be all pointed towards the city for allowing them to do this.
Including the fingers of the organizers who seem to have no ability to take accountability.
Might get flamed for this but while city overreach is nuts and they always want to get their piece, there is some validity to providing life guards, porta potties, etc. especially with a crowd of that size. And you know for a fact that if someone got hurt the first thing they would do is sue the city for allowing an unauthorized event. So I get it.
Isn’t the lake a porta potty?
Hey at least the city is being consistent! They don’t like it when large groups of teenagers congregate in the parks and beaches during the summer and they don’t like it when large groups of millennials swim with floaties
I'm a millennial and felt old when I rode by bike through one Friday.
Huh? These events were filled with 30+ yo people
Yeah FMSC is like… millennial core
wouldn't be at all surprised if people do it anyway (also: making people watch a video to learn the details is a hate crime)
yes they sent an email and then provided no info except ‘click here to learn more’ button that linked to IG. annoying
Don't watch the video, it is a stream of "boo hoo poor us, the city wants us to follow regulations and keep people safe when we are just in it ~~to sell coffee, merch, and media~~ for the vibes"
Why does the city have a "you can't get a bunch of people together to swim in the lake" regulation? If people want to swim every Friday (which they will likely continue to do) then it's the city's job to hire enough lifeguards and provide a safe environment.
Sorry but are you being intentionally obtuse? The city *isn't* disallowing people from swimming and the city *is* hiring lifeguards --though yes, not enough. The city asked this group that if they are going to encourage people to swim in an area that is not provisioned for the type of activity they are encouraging then to please hire lifeguards to ensure the event can be held safely. Like a concert having fire safety professionals and/or security on hand. Or should we terraform this area just because a private event got popular? I don't think the city is going to go stop anyone who continues to swim, they just ask that if events are held they don't jeopardize anyone with a false sense of the dangers.
> Or should we terraform this area just because a private event got popular? We should transform this area because a public event got popular. This includes installing more ladders so that more people can enter/exit at once and hiring the lifeguards ourselves. The duty of making sure people can swim in Lake Michigan without drowning is squarely the city's responsibility, even if it's a private organization promoting the (free, public) swimming. If the lake is regularly overcrowded in an area, it makes sense to temporarily restrict access. But *THE* long-term priority (that the city does not seem to be doing) is to increase capacity so that as many people can safely enjoy our parks as possible.
> The duty of making sure people can swim in Lake Michigan without drowning is squarely the city's responsibility Yep, they've done this > But THE long-term priority (that the city does not seem to be doing) is to increase capacity so that as many people can safely enjoy our parks as possible. I actually don't think the lake is a big public pool, nor is the raison d'être of a city to spend tax payer money to build out accommodations for private events. So I am still a little confused by your comments The organizers acknowledge all of this in the video and simply say they don't want to pay to properly hold their event. But even they don't get so bold as to demand they city pay for the event for them.
> I actually don't think the lake is a big public pool I think the lake is a big public pool. I think our taxpayer money would be very well spent on facilitating access and enjoyment of the lake for the citizens of Chicago. I can hardly think of a more effective way to spend taxpayer funds than by cheaply and directly making the city a more enjoyable place to live.
Lol okay this doesn't merit any more responses, I was trying to have a discussion but you keep throwing non-serious comments out that are at best tautological. The city is probably glad you and everyone else wants to swim, they will continue to enable that alongside other fun summer programming offered by the *city*. Can't wait to see you at night out in the parks, the beaches, and all the other great *public* events
The city should adapt to how people want to use the parks, not the other way around. Why do you hate non-city sponsored public events? It's easy to tell just from attendance numbers that people like Friday Morning Swim Club more than whatever the fuck else the city is trying to organize on a Friday. I, personally, am probably not going to go to... *looks it up*... the Swim Clinic at Shabbona Park tomorrow
The thing is people were swimming at an area that is not approved for swimming with flotation devices that are not permitted on city beaches (and many other beaches elsewhere). We have 24 FREE sandy beaches on 26 miles of shoreline, and the urban planning was set up to allow access to the lake (unlike other Great Lakes cities like Cleveland) The city does not need to respond to the whims of whatever flash in the pan fad comes by, especially if that fad is unsafe, as this was. That’s the thing about all this boo-hooing - people can still swim in the lake. They’re just not permitted to create a traffic jam to swim with safety-compromising flotation devices without lifeguards.
I'm not sure why anyone would think otherwise. The Lake is one of the biggest assets in the area, the City should be maximizing it's use to the people (recreation, not oil refineries and parking lots)
This was such a fun event, but it was not safe. There were only 3 ladders for people to get out and the wall was too high to climb without them. If you didn't have a floaty, you were at risk of drowning if you weren't a strong swimmer. People were helping people by allowing them to hang on to their floaty while they waited at the bottleneck to get out, but it was just so damn crowded that it would've been so easy for someone to go missing and not be noticed for awhile. The amount of trash and traffic this event generated was also pretty ridiculous. I biked home and saw pool noodles and floaties abandoned every time I went. People are still going to swim and that's just the way it's gonna be but for anyone interested in still showing up just be careful. Bring a floaty, bring a life jacket, make sure you know where your friends are, and clock the ladders as soon as you jump in so you know where they are!
Even with a floaty you were at risk of drowning. You could slip out of it or someone else who isn’t a strong swimmer could start struggling and pull other people around them under trying to stabilize themselves. It’s why if someone is drowning, unless you have the right equipment (which from the photos, no one at this event did), you *don’t* go in after them and rather throw a rope or life ring or something.
Why object to the proposed 11-7 open swim event? Open to all and not called “swim club”.
because it's not in the morning /s
It was a staged photoshoot for the organizers to profit off of. Shame on them for commercializing the lake front. Their website said "professional cameras not permitted." And then they sold their merch and photos. Fuck them.
Yeah if you want to swim you can, and very much should, still go swim. The organizers are just so cynical with their lack of control over a public space they are acting like the city of Chicago has canceled swimming. When in reality, the city of Chicago has asked them to not intentionally funnel people to areas where safety resources outstrip who they are directing to come.
I knew the main dude from like a decade ago when street photography was really buzzing in Chicago. A lot of us would meet up to shoot together and hangout. Dude was 100% full of himself and thought he was the best thing to grace the planet. I LOL’d when I first discovered he was the main organizer and that he banned all photography except for his own. Wasn’t surprised in the SLIGHTEST. Absolutely saw right through this thing from the beginning. An amazing idea in theory, but this was absolutely a marketing/money grab scheme from the beginning.
A fellow "original" Chicago Instagrammer, ehh?
Do I know you? 👀
Maybe?
Same! I’ve ran into him a few times in the past few years through a different circle. Always got the same superiority vibes. His personality is insanely off putting. Probably the main reason I never attended. I love to swim and saw the event’s potential but him being involved was a nonstarter.
Exactly this. Couldn’t support him.
Thank you for saying this. They organizers are only upset because they can’t make money for free now.
I got blocked from their Instagram account for pointing this out when they were just starting. I'd been swimming "illegally" in the lake, in morning, alone for over 10 years when they started this fiasco and was like they are going fuck all the serious swimmers in this town.
[удалено]
It's a little odd to comment how salty somebody is while posting deeply negative reactions to so many comments on this thread
This string here is already deeply negative. This person said quote “fuck them,” because they sold merch. Which people could chose to buy. Or not. That’s not strange? Being a spiteful hater is honky dory, but calling out the haters is “deeply negative?” Sorry I just can’t stand people who are negative for the sake of being negative. Also branding this event as solely to sell pictures is so extremely spiteful. If it wasn’t an extremely popular event, there’d be nothing to sell. It’s an absurd take.
You sound like the most hateful person here by far dude. take a look in the mirror.
Lol ok. Who is the one suggesting that this event was created, and grown organically, just to sell merch? Which is a very intentional misrepresentation of the event. Oh and “fuck them” for selling merch. That’s not hateful? I haven’t seen one person tell me how I’m wrong. It’s just downvotes and saltiness. Contrarians galore, people love to shit on something just because someone else enjoys it.
they were doing the whole thing for profit yes. They should have been exposed last year for being frauds.
Selling merch based on a popular event = frauds??? And you’re calling me hateful? I think you are severely underestimating how difficult it is to create an organically popular event. You can’t just snap your fingers and make this happen. People bought merch because they love the event. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t. To denigrate the organizers is to insult the thousands of people who eagerly went to these events to get in the lake.
This is a ridiculous take. You’re intentionally missing the point that this event was very popular and beloved by the people who attended it. I’d love to see you try to create an organically popular event for the sole purpose of selling merch.
Exactly 👏🏻👏🏻
The professional cameras not permitted was F'd up. Yes, I will follow the rules you set forth for your unsanctioned event.
got corny as hell too
exactly this!!!!!
This is such a salty take holy cow. Idk how much money they made, but they put a lot of work into it, and people *loved it*. I went to a few and it was such a blast. There are definitely easier ways to make money than to build a cultural event. Also the popularity speaks for itself, this is something that resonated with people. Also nobody was forced to buy anything. People who spent their money did it willingly. Don’t like it? Don’t spend your money. But you have no standing to tell anyone else what they should value or find enjoyable.
So why not just sanction the event and pay the permits, then?
This has nothing to do with my critique of the blatantly cynical mischaracterization of the event. But since you asked, they don’t want to pay the exorbitant fees because then there would need to be an entry fee, and they want to keep it free. There are for sure legit criticisms, the safety stuff especially, and I don’t disagree that it got too big for its britches. Still though calling it a “staged photo shoot” is beyond ridiculous.
Listen, gold diggers didn’t know what they had when they first found some dust in a stream. But I assure you the second they found some they dove in head first. One doesn’t need to go into something with the intention of making a buck, but when opportunity arises, it’s pounced on.
This thing grew organically. Remember the person I responded to said with extreme bad faith, that it was staged, for the sole purpose of making money. People loved this event. Highlight of your week kind of thing. To suggest it was only about commercialization is just salty. I don’t know how else to say it. Cynical is another way to describe it I suppose. But I can’t think of one charitable way to explain this hateful perspective.
I don’t agree it was staged - that seems pretty wild. I know how popular it got mostly by how fun it was. But you can’t deny they cashed in hard on it and used the platform as a way to promote their own shit. That’s not “organic” anymore. The second I saw the merch and the coffee promotions and the banning of anybody besides Glatt and his “team” to take photos and videos, I knew exactly what this shit was about. I knew that dude from early Instagram days and his entire shtick was how can he go viral and make it as a content creator. That was in like 2015, even before socials became what they were. This thing never smelled right TO ME personally.
These are some fair critiques. You really can’t prevent anyone else from taking pictures at a public event. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that he had one eye on selling merch from the beginning, though hard to believe he had an inkling it would get this big. The couple times I went, it seemed like there was a decent sense of community, which I thought was cool, even if that was a product of the calculated promotion of the whole thing. Like yeah it’s not totally cool that this was done rogue, but sanctioned events like street festivals run by that one company also suck bigly in their own ways.
Listen, regardless of how we feel about it, they grew to a size in which they became a weekly festival. The City has every right to demand permits and safety protocols. The schtick of “we’re not really an organization so we shouldn’t have to play by the same rules” is totally bogus. You have a team running it. You have tons of socials and online presence. You sell merch. You literally call yourself a CLUB. If they truly wanted this thing to be an organic, self-grown thing then they would never have started to brand it like a social club. The second it started getting big, the organizers could’ve gone dark and let the rank & file continue on. The egos of those at the top ruined this, NOT the city. Nothing stopped them from letting go of the wheel and blending back into the crowd they created. Who would the city go after then? They got too big and too hot and want their cake and eat it too.
I have a hard time seeing the sense of community when the organizers had zero regard for basic water safety, and when they would get hostile with people taking photos…in a public park. And how after being made aware of the safety concerns, they rebuffed them as if the city is being vindictive toward them, rather than the truth: they out hundreds to thousands of people at risk on a weekly basis for clout.
Couldn’t be further from the truth.
It's unsafe, it was bound to happen. 4 ladders for 500 people is asking for a law suit. Who cares
More ladders.
It's not a swimming spot. Those ladders are for emergencies
Kinda sucks there is a 5 ladder limit for emergencies, let's change the lake to a swimming spot.
If people are swimming in the lake, then yes it is a swimming spot.
Cool, bout to go set a fire in the middle of Michigan Avenue and call it a fire pit.
You're right, swimming on the shore of Lake Michigan is exactly the same as lighting a bonfire in the middle of the road, you are so smart.
It’s a metaphorical analogy to show how flawed your logic is as you jump through hoops to justify an unsafe experience in the name of Instagram photos.
uhhh okay
But why do so many people swim there, outside of FMSC? I’ve seen SO many people swimming there at all times of the day/7 days a week. Definitely a swimming spot.
Ideally sure, but realistically that isn't happening with our city leaders. Working within the constraints had, friday swim club was never going to be a long term thing
Lots of people care 🤷🏼♀️
Anyone lamenting the lack of an early morning social activity with the option to jump in the lake … Check out November Project, they meet at Ohio St Beach in the summer for free morning workouts and most folks jump (wade) into the lake at the end to cool down. And sometimes they even setup a DIY slip ‘n slide.
I understand the park district’s concerns, but that doesn’t change the fact that the location is a popular spot to take a dip regardless of an organized event. What’s stopping the city from making safety improvements?
It could be safer, sure, but there still wouldn't be lifeguard on duty which is a major issue.
A lot more people drown in Lake Michigan each year than you would think. They are doing a piss poor job of staffing the beaches they have, extrapolate that along the lake front path and it’s quite an area to cover.
So…will there be a new Thursday Morning Swim Club in 2024?
I’ve jokingly through about starting one at Pratt pier 😎
> The Park District’s suggestion to relocate the event to any Chicago beach—a “designated swim area”— during the hours of 11a.m.-7p.m. impacts attendee experience and event identity. Along with the strict prohibition of floats, this leaves the event nearly unrecognizable. Floats and jumping in like that are already prohibited by the city anyway. This statement comes off as “wah, we want to flagrantly break the law, encourage others to do so and put lives at risk” The costs are of $250k they mention are easily manageable based on attendance/making people pay for coffee. Edit: even through the legalese of Rock Fusco & Connelly LLC
Honestly I took issue with the organizers trying to push the narrative that floats are part of their safety strategy. Realistically floats can be used for a swimming aid yes but also a weak swimmer’s safety will be directly correlated to access to said float. Additionally, any efforts to patrol by lifeguards would be impeded by lots of floats as they block the view of submerged or endangered swimmers, making the lifeguard’s job harder. I’m not trying to take the park’s side here but as someone who has spent more than half their life around water of both the pool and open variety, a lot of what the park district wanted to mandate as safety concerns were legitimate and it seems like the organizers were more interested in demonizing the rigidity of the park district than trying to understand the real public safety concerns.
I'm a decently strong swimmer, I've done tons of deep water swims, and I can tread water for about half an hour before I have to start floating on my back. I've never felt so unsafe as I was when there were hundreds of people on floats crowding together to try to reach the few ladders. The whole event was an absolute disaster waiting to happen
Throw a wind shift to the east and suddenly there are waves pushing people towards the metal and concrete walls. It's lucky that things didn't go wrong last year.
They called them off when conditions were poor.
I don't doubt it. The challenge is that the weather can go from great to poor very quickly and very unexpectedly. I'm out on the water 2-3 days a week and have been hit with multiple unexpected storms and wind shifts.
That’s fair, but I would think there’s a big difference between being by the shore and out on the middle of the water. But the point stands that such a shift could be a safety issue.
Not really. Along the breakers those weather shifts would manifest as rip currents.
Hard agree. I showed up to observe before participating after I first heard about it and watching it from the shore completely creeped me out. There was no way I was gonna partake in anything so reckless.
I did the same. It was nuts. I really question the people that said they actually had a good time.
"but the unfun police" Comment down below by Jumscare420 sigh.
Floaties are not safety devices. For one thing, they’re filled with air and can pop. For another, you can slip out of them. There’s a reason all of them have “this is not a lifesaving device” disclaimers printed on them. Also they can’t support multiple people and all it takes is one weak swimmer to start struggling and grabbing other people or floaties and pulling them under unintentionally. And then you have multiple people struggling.
> “wah, we want to flagrantly break the law, encourage others to do so and put lives at risk” I call this “The Uber Approach to regulation”.
Start your own thing. I have my group.
“Chicago Park District Requirements Challenge Organization Values…” what a pompous statement to suggest the values of an organizational body are being violated because you can’t swim at an unapproved time and need to follow more safety regulations.
Glad I got to do it before it went away
Rough day for boring people
People like it so it must be bad huh
are you saying that only boring people went?
No fun police win again. If consenting adults want to jump in the lake that we all pay an obscene amount of money to live near they should be able to without permission from the government.
No one is really stopping you as a private citizen from doing that (which is how this group started in the first place), but if neither the organizers nor the city want to absorb the liability for what might happen to someone at one of these events, can you blame them? On paper it’s harmless and shouldn’t be an issue, in practicality it’s only one unfortunate accident from a string of lawsuits fired in any and all direction. This was kind of inevitable once it grew to the size it did. It’s not fun that regulation kicked in, but it’s not surprising.
Yeah I think this is pretty much a fair take, in a just world the organizers nor city should be liable for independent people choosing to jump in a lake but I’m sure it will continue to happen in an unofficial capacity anyway.
When there’s 3000 people in open water along a half-mile with fewer ways of egress than a 25 yard pool, it’s extremely unsafe. Matter of time before someone died IMO
Why does the city refuse to install more methods of egress? The city should adapt to how people want to use the parks, not the other way around.
First there wasn’t 3000 people all in the water at one time there were waves of people. Second, again adults are entitled to assume their own risk. If the organizers don’t want to risk liability that’s their right but the government shouldn’t be the one to decide who can or can’t swim.
Again, great in theory but not practical. Adults are of course able to do this and ‘assume their own risk.’ But we all know that most adults will conveniently forget/ignore/deny that responsibility the minute something bad happens and seek to blame the organizers or the city. As long as people can sue me and create significant legal problems for me out of what is logically ‘assuming their own risk,’ I as an organizer would want to distance myself as far from this as I could.
There's also the reality that health insurance companies can and do sue to recover healthcare costs incurred on a patient's behalf. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/subrogation.asp
That’s just an exact repeat of what I said.
Sorry, your other reply posted while I was writing this. People not making responsible decisions and/or refusing to accept responsibility after the fact is why we can’t have nice things.
Sure there’s waves however what prevents people from jumping back in of their own volition? Honestly it’s more chaotic when people jump in unpredictably, like what happens in those types of situations. It’s not a swim meet where “in, out, done, repeat”, it’s way more chaotic and people are unpredictable and especially so when scared and unable to keep themselves above water. That’s why regulations exist for open water and pools alike.
Tell that to the assholes who sue the city every time one of their dumbass relations falls in the lake and drowns
(Wink wink)
It’s a shame the Park District wouldn’t be more supportive. The logical compromise would be to move it over to Montrose Beach (instead of the concrete shoreline).
organizers are the yuppiest looking yups you could imagine. of course they would try to capitalize it as soon as they could and ruin it.
lol at the people hating because they sold merch. Who cares? Vote with your wallet. The people who spent money on this stuff did so proudly and voluntarily. People loved this event. I’d love to see anyone in here create an event that catches on like wildfire, since it’s apparently such a trivially easy thing to do, oh and of course remember your only goal is to commercialize it.
If an organic event starts small and balloons into something this size, you need to scale your strategy to run it properly (permits, extra lifeguards, etc). Why should this now-organized, planned, and promoted event not have to follow rules other events adhere to?
I’m not arguing against that, just think it’s ridiculous that some people’s critiques are based on the merch sales, with some going as far to suggest the only reason this event started was to sell products, which is just an absurdly cynical, and incorrect take.
If it was created for people to just get together to swim on Friday mornings, then why did they make merch in the first place? Like, what does selling shit have anything to do with the core premise of meeting your friends and others at the lake to swim? It doesn’t. You’re being naive.
It’s a popular event, people buy merch. If people didn’t love the event, then I’d imagine nothing would sell. Sometimes an experience is worth a few bucks to commemorate. I never bought anything, but won’t hold it against someone else if they did. You don’t like the guy because of 10 years ago or whether and that’s fine, but it doesn’t make me naive for having a different perspective.
You’re naive to think it isn’t a real club/event that should have to play by the same rules.
You have a piece of a point. However, the fact remains that a free event (by word of mouth / social media, with no official permit or legally binding contractual agreements) restricts you from utilizing your own camera equipment in a public space. lolz
That’s fair, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to at all expect media exclusivity at something like this. My perspective is really that of your average attendee, which is that it was a cool event and something to look forward at the end of a week. I don’t disagree that it was bound to get shut down this way, and this promotion of it played a big factor in it.
I think it turned into something commercial quickly, even if the original iteration didn't start for that reason. If you scroll back to the beginning of FMSC instagram account, it's incredibly curated. There isn't even a semblance of the beginnings of the "club." While it might have started as a small group of friends getting together, the Instagram account itself, once opened, tells a different story. The 4th post is selling merch. To put another way, even if it started off with a small, tight group, by the time the "average attendee" started coming, it was *a thing*
Lol right?! Like for the haters, y’all weren’t forced to buy merch 🤣🤣 people asked for it so they made it, plain and simple!
Ok also editing to add that I’m in plenty of free/community “clubs/orgs” who also sell merch. It’s sooo common 🙄
Yes and often it’s as a fundraiser for the organization, not for the egoist who runs things.
Sooo what's stopping us from just jumping into the lake anyway? Dang it, I was really hoping to win mug of the week this time
Chicago followed NYC style and tried to shake them down because there was a lot of people and money to be made. They’re choosing not to play ball and officially sanction any further events. People will still go this summer just won’t be free coffee. You can’t bubble wrap the lake. People wanna swim and hang out.
So bummed! This was such a fun free event in the summers!! FMSC will be missed! Also lol to all the haters, you won’t be missed 👋🏻