WSF News

A blue pontoon boat floats on a calm lake under a partly cloudy sky as two children in kid's life jackets jump into the water, while an adult watches from the boat. Lush green hills are visible in the background.

Eight Top Boating Tips for Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day is the busiest boating weekend of the year ORLANDO, Fla. – May 12, 2026 – As the traditional opening of the summer boating season approaches this Memorial Day, the Water Sports Foundation (WSF) encourages boaters to prepare for the busiest boating weekend of the year. “Memorial Day weekend traditionally signals the start of […]

A young child wearing a kid's life jacket smiles while holding onto the steering wheel of a boat, with water and greenery visible in the background.

Water Sports Foundation Video Featured on Amazon Consumer Information Page

The video “Properly Sizing Children’s Life Jackets” is part of a joint effort by the retailer and Coast Guard to counter swim vests and floaties improperly labeled as life jackets Orlando, FL April 23, 2026 – Amazon, the world’s largest retailer, in April agreed to include consumer warning information about sellers on the site inaccurately […]

A person in a red kayak, wearing a kid's life jacket, paddles on a calm lake surrounded by forested mountains, with the landscape and sky reflected in the water under a cloudy sky.

Paddling Season is Back: 5 Tips for Kayak and SUP Fun

Growth, innovation and safety are trending for the 2026 paddling season. ORLANDO, Fla. – April 14, 2026 — As spring unfolds across the United States, paddlers are eagerly returning to the water to mark the unofficial start of the season for kayakers, canoers and stand-up paddleboarders, all sports which are surging in popularity. The Outdoor […]

Royalty-free image - A person drives an orange and black speedboat quickly across calm water, creating a blurred wake; large white text above reads, "Confidence is Contagious," promoting boater education and safety tips.

The Confidence Game

Boater Education and Product Demos Give Dealers an Edge Boats these days are so feature-rich it seems they should sell themselves. But veteran dealers will tell you the key to closing the deal isn’t only just horsepower and electronics packages. A salesperson’s ability to show a prospective buyer how to safely operate and enjoy a […]

Royalty-free image - A speeding motorboat moves through the water with large text above: "YOU'RE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK." At the bottom, small text warns about distractions while boating and promotes wearing life jackets and staying vigilant.

WSF Debuts New Boating Safety Campaign

For the first time in its 15 years managing life-saving boating safety campaigns, the Water Sports Foundation (WSF) has contracted a top-tier creative design agency. The WSF selected Black Oak Creative of Winter Haven, Florida, for its years of marine industry experience and forward-leaning creative designs. The WSF has so far debuted seven new advertisements […]

Royalty-free image - A child in a life jacket walks toward a docked boat, while two adults hold hands in the foreground. Text emphasizes the importance of safety before leaving the dock.

WSF debuts ‘The Moment That Matters’ Ad Series

The Water Sports Foundation is proud to reveal the first ad in its new The Moment That Matters boating safety campaign. The full-page print ad will debut in the April 2026 issue of Boating magazine. Design agency Black Oak Creative crafted a range of similar advertisements aimed at different boating and paddling audiences. The campaign […]

Royalty-free image - A young boy with curly hair, wearing a bright orange kid’s life jacket, smiles brightly while sitting on a boat. The sun is shining, and a calm body of water with a distant shoreline is visible in the background.

Boating Fatalities Fall to Lowest Level in 50 Years

The U.S. Coast Guard’s 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics Report records the fewest boating fatalities since the Service began collecting statistics more than 50 years ago. The Coast Guard released the report Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Boating fatalities were down 1.4 percent from 564 in 2023 to 556 in 2024, continuing a “This positive news reflects […]

WSF Applauds DICK’S Paddling Safety Initiative

Retailer joins nonprofits and state agencies to promote kayaking and paddleboarding safety ORLANDO, FL, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2024 — The Water Sports Foundation, a recreational boating safety advocacy group, is coordinating a paddling safety effort including state agencies, nonprofits and retailer DICK’S Sporting Goods. The initiative seeks to engage large sporting goods chains and warehouse […]

License-free image A young girl with an excited smile holds a fishing pole. She is wearing a life vest and is on a boat. Another person, also in a life vest, is taking her photo. The background is a blurred water scene.

When A Life Jacket Is Not a Life Jacket

Ordering a kid’s life jacket online is no guarantee you’ll get a U.S. Coast Guard approved device that will protect your child Looking forward to another season of boating with her young family, Allie Wojciak went online and bought a new life jacket for her son. At least, she thought she did. Wojciak typed “toddler […]

ACA’s Largest-Ever Training Event

On May 18, in what may have been the largest ACA led safety training event in ACA history, the ACA Regional Activity Council rallied the paddlesports community across seven states to train 471 people in one day to kick off National Safe Boating Week. This year marked a significant expansion of an already successful volunteer-led […]

Record Decline In Boating Deaths Has One Exception

ORLANDO, FL – The Coast Guard last week reported the largest year-over-year drop in recreational boating fatalities in more than a decade, but that encouraging news was tempered by an increase in paddling deaths. According to the agency’s Recreational Boating Safety Statistics for 2023, overall boating fatalities fell a whopping 11.3 percent, from 636 in […]

Holiday Boating Tips

Throughout the country, boaters are expected to cruise to popular gathering spots this Fourth of July weekend with friends and family, with plans to raft up, drop anchor and swim, enjoy barbeques and cap off festivities with spectacular fireworks celebrations.

Life Jacket Law For Paddlers

PROVIDENCE, RI – For paddlers in Rhode Island, wearing a life jacket is no longer a choice. It’s the law. The mandatory life jacket rule is one of five new safety regulations that went into effect on April 2, 2023, according to an announcement by the state’s Department of Environmental Management (DEM). The new life […]

Choosing Life Jackets for Kids

Five things to look for in life jackets for kids. By now, most boaters should be familiar with the statistics. Life jackets save lives, but only if you wear them. Fortunately, today’s offerings are more comfortable than ever. While most adults can easily find a life jacket that does the job, selecting a kid’s jacket […]

Kayakers Fight for Survival On Lake Superior

One by one, the three kayakers capsized in the cold, angry water. Then they became separated. It was meant to be another boys’ trip, the latest in a tradition that stretched back more than two decades. Every other year, the old friends—Jim Farrington, 49, an electrical lineman in Alden, Michigan; Sean Royston, 47, an electrical grid systems manager […]

WSF’s Jim Emmons Talks Boating Safety With The Weather Channel

Water Sports Foundation Executive Director Jim Emmons is interviewed by The Weather Channel

Men’s Journal Covers Paddling Safety

Sea Tow Foundation Adds Nine Industry Leaders to Serve on its Boating Safety Advisory Council

June 9, 2022 – Nine new marine industry stakeholders were recently elected to serve two-year terms beginning June 1, 2022, on the Sea Tow Foundation’s Boating Safety Advisory Council. Established in 2019, the advisory council collaborates on multiple national boating safety initiatives and also judges and selects the most outstanding efforts by marine industry companies […]