Open Water Events

OPEN WATER SANCTION BENEFITS

Swimmer safety is of primary inportance to USMS and the New England LMSC. A USMS sanction signals that your open water event is adequately insured and adheres to rigorous safety requirements.

When planning your event and preparing your sanction application, please carefully read the following guidance from the USMS Open Water Event Management webpage and familiarize yourself with the Open Water Sanction Benefits.

Here is a breakdown of sanction fees (current as of 8/8/2026):

  • One Event Fee (OEVT) – ALL competitors in sanctioned events who are not registered USMS members must pay an OEVT fee to participate so that all swimmers will be covered by USMS liability and excess personal accident insurance during the event. The amount your event must pay the New England LMSC will equal $20 multiplied by the # of OEVT swimmers, even if the event is canceled. If the director of a USMS-sanctioned event chooses to offer the OEVT membership option, they must incorporate the $20 OEVT fee into the registration process for all adult event registrants who are not already USMS members.

A USMS sanction will only cover adults 18+ who are USMS members or have paid the OEVT fee. If your event includes swimmers under age 18, they must swim in a separate wave covered by separate, non-USMS insurance — unless they are all USA Swimming members and the event is also USA Swimming-sanctioned, in which case minors who are USA Swimming members can swim in the same wave with USMS members and are covered by the USA Swimming insurance policy.

If your event offers multiple distances, (e.g., 1K, 5K, 10K), includes minors, and is not USA Swimming-sanctioned, you could, for example, opt to USMS-sanction the longer 5K and 10K distances and leave the shorter 1K distance open for non-USMS members and minors covered by separate (non-USMS) liability and accident insurance. For more insurance information, click here.

If you choose not to seek a USMS sanction, you may still request that your open water event be added to the New England LMSC Event Calendar. But, with a few exceptions, unsanctioned events cannot be added to the USMS Calendar of Events. Unsanctioned events are ineligible for USMS insurance protection.

ONLINE OPEN-WATER SANCTION APPLICATION

Open Water sanction applications must be submitted through the USMS online sanction system. Please have the following documents ready to upload (in Word or PDF format):

  1. Your event entry form/website

  2. Safety Plan Application

For guidance on submitting a sanction request online, click here.

Once submitted, the system will notify the NE LMSC Open Water Sanctions Chair, who will conduct the first-line review of your application and contact you if additional information is required. Once approved at the LMSC level, the application goes to the USMS Open Water Compliance Coordinator for final review and assignment of a sanction number.

Please direct all open water sanction inquiries to Gary Girolimon, NELMSC Open Water Sanctions Coordinator.