What style do you prefer when it comes to an open water swimming design: Old School or New Wave?

Background

Since my first open water swim in Southern California in 1968, I have always felt a deep passion about the sport and wanted to help explain and promote the adventures, feats, and challenges of open water swimming.

Over the decades, I have written about, taught, promoted, supported, and organized open water swimming events through Swimming World Magazine, SWIMMER Magazine, and Competitor Magazine, and on behalf of U.S. Masters Swimming, USA Swimming, and FINA. Along the way, I also founded and developed World Open Water Swimming Association (WOWSA), Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Oceans Seven,  WOWSA Awards, Openwaterpedia, and other entities and platforms including Open Water Swimming Magazine:

Global Growth

The sport has constantly grown over the six decades that I have been involved in the sport – from marathon swimming, channel swimming, the Olympics, stage swimming, ice swimming, winter swimming, polar swimming, wild swimming, high-altitude swimming, self-sustained swimming, and all other kinds of adventure swimming and extreme swimming.

The sport will undoubtedly continue to expand with an increasing number of participants, events, race directors, associations, websites, blogs, and social media platforms.

Every decade has brought more excitement, increased opportunities, greater potential, larger online audiences, and more creativity.

WOWSF Introduction

With all the growth, this is an excellent time to introduce a new organization: the World Open Water Swimming Federation (WOWSF).

But, there have been no fundamental changes to the core mission of my focus:

• to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline

Those goals will remain top priorities with me – and those with whom I work alongside.

WOWSF Look

It is time to create a look, logo, and image that represents the newly evolving WOWSF organization.

With the help of Antonio Argüelles and Ernesto Moncada, we have developed two possibilities. One style is much more Old School and the other look is much more New Wave.

Old school means something closer to how things were done or looked in the past. There is a sense of history, pride, and respect of past times and images. It is an acknowledgement that what came before is not only good enough, but best to continue.

New Wave means something that is intentionally or radically different than the traditional ideas, concepts, and images of the past. It is a new way of looking forward with a creative eye and imaginative perspective.

Moncada and Argüelles came up with two core ideas for the WOWSF logo, both images are designed to represent the values of excellence, unity, respect, and the dynamic nature of open water swimming.

• Old School on the left
• New Wave on the right

Old School

The first WOWSF image calls to mind the traditional design used by athletic associations of the 19th and 20th centuries as well with historical naval and military emblems. The design combines simple and contemporary elements in a clean, modern, balanced aesthetic.

The 7 dots at the top represent the Oceans Seven, but also the Seven Seas and the seven days of the week. The blue bar near the top represents the surface of the water. The light and dark blue curves represent the currents and tides of open bodies of water, reaching to the depths of the sea. The star represents excellence and a streamlined balance between left and right, top and bottom, start and finish, night and day.

New Wave

The second possible WOWSF image takes more effort to see the dynamic nature of the water with an adventurous spirit and enthusiastic perspective to undertake challenges in the open water. The movement and reflection of light on the water’s surface includes a range of colors from the baby blue azul colors of tropical waters to the deeper greens of the temperate regions to the solid royal blue of the deep oceans and polar regions.

The W shape represents the ever-constant movement of water, wind, and waves – as well as currents and tides – in oceans, seas, lakes, bays, and rivers that can either help or hinder a swimmer. It also calls to mind marine life ranging from jellyfish tentacles to the streamlined beauty of dolphins.

Preference and Comments

Which do you prefer? Why? Please share your comments and your recommendations for changes of shapes, colors, sizes, and elements. Or, simply give a thumbs up for either the Old School logo or the New School logo.

Feel free to comment publicly or send your thoughts privately to headcoach@openwatersource.com.

 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.