Founded in 1975 as a safety advisory organization, we are a group of passionate volunteers dedicated to safe adventures in Ontario waters that honour the traditions of marathon swimming. We observe and ratify escorted but unassisted marathon swims, and we curate a history of swims in our waters that meet these standards. 

Once you've applied, we'll be in touch with you about fees, timing, and logistics. You will need to find boats, a pilot, and crew, but we can help! We'll assign you a swim master who can guide you through these steps, and who will serve as the official observer on your swim. We're a safety organization, so our primary focus will be helping ensure a safe crossing. Please work with your doctor or medical professional to complete our medical evaluation. We'll also ask you to sign a standard liability disclaimer, and to acknowledge our code of conduct.

Before your swim, we'll ask for evidence of a trial swim in comparable conditions to your proposed route, completed without aids or pacers, with your coach or team leader present, and in some cases also observed by your SSO swim master. The aim of this trial is to show us that you can cover a substantial portion the intended distance at a reasonable pace, in similar waters, without undue fatigue, and using your intended feeding plan. Aim to get this trial swim done no later than a few weeks before your proposed swim (but earlier is better). A successful trial swim is ultimately a matter of our judgement, but in general we're looking for the swimmer to cover 16km in well under 7 hours.

For Lake Ontario swims that end in Toronto, there are some additional challenges (and associated forms) that are needed for traversing these very busy waters.