SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT 

Background 
FINA (World Aquatics Federation) rules apply exclusively to FINA, or LEN (European Aquatics Federation) competitions. However, the vast majority of OWS events are not in the FINA or LEN competition system. These competitions include recreational swimmers where rescue interventions are much more frequent and necessary. This project refers to activities and OWS events focused mainly on recreational sports.
Objectives
The main objective is to increase awareness about the necessity of improving the level of safety at OWS events, of actually improving and updating safety measures as well as the know-how in races that are not in the FINA or LEN competition system. This is done by setting up a transnational network that will enable the sharing of OWS event managers’ knowledge. An online manual related to safety at OWS events was created in the project for swimmers and organizers, as well as independent unorganized swimming in open water. This development was achieved through the cooperation of a transnational partnership consisting of 5 partners from 4 countries.
Implementation
The implementation of this project defined the conditions that will increase the safety of OWS events for event managers and, with the resulting synergistic effect, the overall quality of OWS events in general. The partnership brought together a few key representatives who worked together and ultimately developed new information in the field of OWS events safety management for OWS event stakeholders.
Results
An online manual related to safety at OWS events was created for swimmers and organizers, as well as independent unorganized swimming in open water. All contents and results, including the manual, are available on the project website: www.safety-ows.eu. While the links to access the said page are on the web and FB pages of the partners in the project.