|  The 7th Barbados Open Water Festival, Nov 7-11, 2018. Save the Dates...and swim with us! At the 2017 event, this past November we welcomed swimmers ranging in age from six years old to 75+ from seventeen countries:
England Canada Wales Poland Spain Costa Rica Germany
Brazil Australia USA Switzerland Netherlands Trinidad Czech Republic
Antigua Barbados USVI
Watch the 2017 Video here: BOWF 2017 Video
Read about the 2017 Barbados Open Water Festival here: 2017 Festival News
The first Festival in July 2013 attracted 89 entries in two races (1.5K and 10K). In 2017 there were 625 entries across four races (1.5, 3.3, 5 and 10K). Additionally, over 100 visiting swimmers attended each of the three lead up practice swims. The 10K, first introduced in 2016, grew to 43 swimmers in 2017! The 1.5K was the latest race with 299 swimmers while the "Just For Fun 1.5K", a casual swim that isn't timed, enjoyed greatly increased popularity and raised money for "Variety: The Children's Charity of Barbados".
Was wonderful to have such a range of ages and abilities lining up to swim in the magnificent Carlisle Bay: Elite swimmers,Olympians, Masters Champions, competitive junior swimmers, club champions, professional triathletes, water polo players, recreational swimmers, novice swimmers, pool swimmers, lake swimmers and sea swimmers. Every year we look forward to seeing our regulars, some who have attended the last five festivals (from Trinidad, Florida, New Jersey, Thunder Bay, Sasketchewan and Calgary. The Freestyle Experience group led by Canadian Olympian swimmer Katie Brambley visited for a second time. Katie has developed a swim camp coached by Olympians to coincide with the Barbados Open Water Festival. The 20+ participants attended daily sessions at the Aquatic Centre and at the end of the week took part in the Open Water Festival. Katie intends to return in 2018. (Learn more here: http://katiebrambley.wixsite.com/freestyleexperience)
Safety
As the Festival grows, organisers are striving to continuously improve and increase safety measures. In 2017 the Festival had its usual kayakers and paddlers on the route, two escort boats and emergency care doctors as well as an ambulance on the beach. However, a scuba diver was added in 2017 to "keep an eye on the swimmers" from underwater. Additionally, a Coast Guard boat and Police boat were contracted in 2017 to secure the area, keep other water-craft off the swim course and provide immediate assistance to any swimmer facing difficulty.
Plans for 2018 BOWF:
The 2018 event will offer the same schedule of 2017 with three days of practice swims and four races over two days (1.5K, 3.3K, 5K and 10K). The scheduled dates for the Festival are Nov 7-11, 2018.
Nomination:
The Organisers were thrilled to learn that the Festival was nominated for a World Open Water Swimming Association Award in 2017 in the category: “Performance of the Year”. "Kristina Evelyn and Zary Evelyn have delivered Barbados to the international open water swimming community. The husband-and-wife team recruits their children, parents, cousins, and various friends to put on an outstanding event as they expertly stretch an extremely limited budget while serving as hosts to swimmers from dozens of countries. Their constant promotional and organizational efforts put Barbados on the global open water swimming map; their creative marketing programs and initiatives incorporate the natural beauty of Barbados; they execute a relentlessly positive, year-round, comprehensive approach to organizing the multi-event Barbados Open Water Swimming Festival." |
