SAFETY PLAN:
1.  Emergency services provided by Sarasota County Lifeguard Service(SCLS), a USLA certified agency. All are certified First Responders. At least two are EMT's.
2.  SCLS will have seven staff on duty. Five will be on course and two on shore. One jet ski with sled will be on course, other personnel will be on rescue boards.
3. Two beach vehicles will be on site and equipped with Basic Life Support gear and AED.
4.  Jet ski will have radio communication with on shore SCLS staff and Race Director.Radio communication is directly linked to 911 services.
5.  Sarasota County Fire Station #13 is located within the boundaries of Siesta Key Public Beach, the race venue, with full Emergency Services including ambulances. Response time would be 5 minutes or less.
6. Four to five hundred participants are expected. However the race is contested in three distances 1K-2.5K-5K. Most 1K swimmers will be finished in twenty minutes or less. After the 2.5K swimmers complete 1 loop around the rectangle they will be finished leaving approximately 150 swimmers completing the 5K. In past years we have had approximately 15 additional support craft, mainly kayaks and feel that is an adequate number to monitor the course. Add in the 5 SCLS personnel and there will be around 20 craft on the course. There will also be two power boats outside the course, one for the officials and one to keep any boat traffic away from the course. The three races will be staggered starts to avoid unnecessary crowding.
7.  A distressed swimmer would be identified by support craft blowing a whistle until recognized. SCLS personnel on jet ski and should be on site in 10-20 seconds. Swimmer will be placed on sled backboard and transported to shore where resuscitation if necessary will begin. 
8. A briefing of the course and conditions will be held on the beach prior to the swim. All participants will be checked in by crossing the electronic finish pad and entered into a holding area. They will be checked back in as they finish. Swimmers that withdraw from the race will need to report to the finish area to be accounted for. Contact information for all swimmers will be recorded as part of the registration process.