Marathon Swimmers Federation Publishes Standardized Rules of Marathon Swimming

Last month the Marathon Swimmers Federation, co-founded by SBCSA board member Evan Morrison, released the MSF Rules of Marathon Swimming - a standardized set of rules and guiding principles for solo, unassisted marathon swimming. MSF Rules may be viewed at: marathonswimmers.org/rules.

While there are many sets of “marathon swimming rules” written by local governing bodies such as the SBCSA, the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation, and the two English Channel organizations, MSF Rules go further, aiming to express the “shared spirit” of these many local variants. MSF Rules clearly define the term unassisted (which was widely misunderstood in the wake of Diana Nyad’s swim); they specifically delineate the “standard equipment” of the sport; and they emphasize the crucial importance of independent observers and transparency of swim conduct.

MSF Rules were developed over several months by Evan, Andrew Malinak, Donal Buckley, and Elaine Howley. After several rounds of feedback and peer-review with a wider group of well-respected marathon swimmers and administrators, MSF Rules publicly launched on January 6th, to wide acclaim from the marathon swimming community and coverage by Swimming World and SwimSwam.

The SBCSA and its Board of Directors have endorsed the MSF Rules, along with a very long list of other governing bodies and individuals. If you support the project of global rules in marathon swimming, we encourage you to add your name to the endorsements list by contacting MSF.