Sports

Channel Swim: Saint Lucia Nominated For WOWSA Award

Image: (L-R) Weston Moses, Paul Nance, Lily Bergasse, Molly Nance (the eventual swimmer), Sue Dyson, Nathaniel Waring, Tourism Minister - Dominic Fedee and Director of Sports in the Department of Youth Development and Sports - Patrick Mathurin (Photo: SLCS)

Four months after the Inaugural Saint Lucia Channel Swim event, earlier this week the organizers received official word from World Open Water Swimming Association that they are nominated for the 2018 WOWSA Swimming Offering of the Year Award! 

World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA) was founded in 2005 by Steven Munatones, the creator of Oceans 7.

Image: (L-R) Weston Moses, Paul Nance, Lily Bergasse, Molly Nance (the eventual swimmer), Sue Dyson, Nathaniel Waring, Tourism Minister - Dominic Fedee and Director of Sports in the Department of Youth Development and Sports - Patrick Mathurin (Photo: SLCS)
(L-R) Weston Moses, Paul Nance, Lily Bergasse, Molly Nance (the eventual swimmer), Sue Dyson, Nathaniel Waring, Tourism Minister – Dominic Fedee and Director of Sports in the Department of Youth Development and Sports – Patrick Mathurin (Photo: SLCS)

As Open Water swimming has been growing year after year, Munatones felt there needed to be an umbrella organization for this particular sport.

As noted on the website “WOWSA offers the open water swimming community news of its sport, promotion of its heroes, education programs for its coaches, and event support with insurance and sanctioning for its races, solo swims and relays.”

Receiving a nomination is an honor!  According to the selectors, World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year is meant to identify products and services that (1) best support and assist open water swimmers achieve their goals, (2) are innovative, unique and beneficial to open water swimmers, race directors, coaches or administrators, and (3) have made the most positive impact on the world of open water swimming during the calendar year.

The organizers, Sue Dyson and Nathaniel Waring, along with the team that assisted them for 2018, are humbled and honored.

According to Dyson “We are completely overwhelmed in receiving this nomination.  With the thousands of open water events and offerings that take place on a yearly basis, your initial reaction is astonishment and almost a little disbelief. Then amazement and honor sets in!

Of course, we could not have received this nomination without the support of the entire local committee, SLASPA, Marine Police Unit, Emergency and Fire Services, Events Company Saint Lucia, Department  of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Tourism, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Cap Maison, Captain Mike’s, Saint Lucia Yacht Club, the International Open Water Community, and so many more.

This nomination will allow the event and open water swimming to continue to grow in Saint Lucia.  It’s an honor for all of Saint Lucia and it should be recognized as such!”

Throughout the award history for the WOWSA Swimming Offering Award, there has only been one other Caribbean Event to be nominated.  However, Saint Lucia Channel Swim is the only Caribbean event to be nominated in the inaugural year.

This achievement alone speaks volumes to what awaits open water swimming and sports tourism in Saint Lucia.

With support and development in the local community on the horizon, it can be expected that the organizers will continue to strive to draw regional and international attention to Saint Lucia’s shores.

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