The highly anticipated Barbados Open Water Festival (BOWF) will be held from November 6 to 10, 2024, offering swimmers of various skill levels an unmatched experience of Barbados’ pristine waters, from three locations – Carlisle Bay, Miami Beach, and Batts Rock.
The BOWF has grown tremendously since it was first held in 2013 and featured only 1.5K and 5K races over the course of one day. This year’s five-day festival invites both locals and visitors from around the globe to participate in three days of 2K practice swims and two days of exhilarating open water races in the 1.5K, 3.3K, 5K, and 10K distance categories.
In addition to experienced swimmers, the event also caters to novices with a 1.5K Just For Fun Swim, scheduled for first-time swimmers and those simply looking for non-competitive enjoyment.
BOWF Event Organiser, Zary Evelyn, stated: “This year’s event, our 10th edition of the festival, promises to be the biggest one yet, as we are expecting swimmers from over 20 countries.”
He added, “We have Steph Horner, a three-time Olympian from Canada among the host of elite visitors this year, along with 15 members of the Junior Canadian National Team.”
A major highlight of the 2024 BOWF will be the festive beach party atmosphere, featuring live steel pan music, along with professional timing by BFIT group, a unique redesign of commemorative finisher medals, and the provision of winner medals in multiple age categories.
Visitors attending the BOWF typically stay between seven and 14 days, significantly impacting the local economy during the first two weeks of November, based on the resultant revenue generation through hotel bookings, restaurant patronage, and transportation services.
Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) Manager, Sports, Kamal Springer, noted: “Given the Barbados Open Water Festival’s positive impact on our island’s sports tourism, BTMI is happy to continue our partnership with this event. It is undoubtedly a welcome opportunity to spotlight Barbados’ amazing coastal assets to the world.
“Carlisle Bay, for example, is one of the world’s best natural open water swim locations. The potential for the continued growth of the festival is quite high, based on the appeal of our beautiful waters and beaches to an increasing number of travellers, in pursuit of an active holiday.”
With the increasing popularity of BOWF, the event has become an important staple on the island’s calendar, which assists in the promotion of Barbados as a premier Sports Tourism destination. From 2020 to 2022, the BOWF was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, when the competition reopened in 2023, the festival attracted 845 swimmers, experiencing a 20 per cent growth over 2019 pre-COVID figures. Of that total, 496 were visiting swimmers, accompanied by their friends and families from 18 countries. For this year’s BOWF, a similar 20 per cent growth is expected.
Over the life of the event, BOWF has welcomed swimmers of all ages and abilities from over 35 countries, including as far afield as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and South Africa. Several seasoned open water swimming athletes have also participated in the festival, from Olympians, World Champions, Masters Champions, and Marathon Swimmers to National Champions and Pro-triathletes.
The event received a World Award nomination in 2017 and was listed as “The Holiday Swim” to attend in the most recent issue of the Outdoor Swimmer Magazine, published in the United Kingdom. Online registration is currently open for the Barbados Open Water Festival. For more information, email barbadosopenwaterfestival@gmail.com.
Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
Author: Public Relations