Kate Rew Receives 2016 Paragon Award

21st Annual Paragon Awards presented by Pentair Aquatic Systems and the ISHOF.

Paragon (noun): a person regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality.

Paragon Awards (noun): annual recognition given to individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to Competitive, Recreational or Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo, Diving, or Aquatic Safety.

Kate Rew: recipient of the 2016 Paragon Awards for her infectious, influential lifelong contributions to Recreational Swimming.

The globally influential Rew will be honored together with Glenn Mills and Go Swim for Competitive Swimming; Dr. Barbara Kalbus for Water Polo, Cokey Huffman for Competitive Diving; The USA Swimming Foundation for Aquatic Safety; and Ulla Soili Marjatta Lucenius of Finland for Synchronized Swimming on October 28th at ISHOF’s 52nd Hall of Fame Honoree Weekend in Santa Clara Hilton Hotel in Santa Clara, California.

“Pentair is honored to be associated with the International Swimming Hall of Fame and to recognize leaders in the aquatic industry who play a prominent role in the promotion of aquatics,” said Jim Drozdowski, Institutional Aquatics Sales Manager for Pentair Aquatic Systems.

“The annual Paragon Awards bring some of the most interesting and fascinating people each year to the Hall of Fame,” said Bruce Wigo, CEO of ISHOF. “These are the unsung heroes who make competitive and recreational aquatics possible, who save lives, who promote water safety and further aquatic education.”

But there may be few English-speakers in the open water swimming world who are as well-known and followed as Rew who is the renowned author of Wild Swim and the founder and visionary of the Outdoor Swimming Society.

Rew describes an early love of wild swimming developed during summer days on her family’s farm in Devonshire, England. The childhood expeditions developed into a lifelong passion, prompting her to author the book ‘Wild Swim’, celebrating some of the best swims across Great Britain. But then the Outdoor Swimming Society and the Wild Swim book series took off around the world and Rew’s organization harnessed the tremendous growth and the popularity of wild swimming around the world.