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Sports

Open Water Swimming

Open Water Swimming Sport Center

This page draws together open water swimming-related information for all of Special Olympics. The coaching materials and other links will help you get a good sense of how this sport contributes to Special Olympics.

In the Natural Elements

Open water swimming debuted at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece as a demonstration sport. Open water swimming involves swimming in rivers, lakes, seas or the ocean, where deep water, lack of lane markings, waves, currents, wind and other natural elements test the swimmer. Find more resources, stories and upcoming events related to swimming in general by visiting the Swimming page.

Two athletes with yellow caps swimming in the water.

Open Water Swimming Coaching Resources

Coaching guide, rules, and other materials for coaches.
Additional Coaching Resources

General Coaching Information

How to become an excellent Special Olympics coach: videos, brochures and more covering coaching basics

General Sport Resources

Basic resources and information Special Olympics coaches need to be successful, including Sports Article 1, rules, fact sheets, materials on CD and DVD, quizzes and event-management guides.

All Sport Resources

Get rules, fact sheets, coaching guides, quizzes broken out for each sport, plus comprehensive information on coach development, athlete development and Unified Sports.