RIVERSPORT and OSU Host 2026 Swiftwater Training & Championship Games in Oklahoma City

Published by HIGHER SPORT | Manufacturing & Innovation

OKLAHOMA CITY — RIVERSPORT, in partnership with Oklahoma State University (OSU), hosted the 2026 Swiftwater Training & Championship Games from August 24–28 at its $45 million Whitewater Center. Now in its fifth year, the conference brought together fire departments, law enforcement, EMS, urban search and rescue (USAR) teams, and military personnel for advanced classroom instruction and hands-on training in swiftwater rescue operations.

The five-day program paired OSU's fire-rescue curriculum with realistic scenarios on the world-class whitewater course — raft flips, vehicle rescues, tension diagonal operations, throw-bag and strainer drills, wade crossings, foot-entrapment and fire-hose rescue, eddy swims, and vector lowers. Because the course is a controlled facility, instructors could shut the water off in seconds if a scenario went wrong — a margin of safety that no natural river can offer.

Designed by S20 Designs/Calibre Engineering, the course belongs to the same family as the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina; Lee Valley Whitewater Centre in London, host of the 2012 Olympics; and Montgomery Whitewater in Alabama. "In no other environment can you create real whitewater that can be configured to create the ideal training scenario," said S20 founder Scott Shipley, a three-time Olympian and slalom world champion. S20 has also delivered the world's most advanced urban flood simulator in Houston — a $25 million, 75,000-square-foot facility that can train 3,000–4,000 responders per year — plus the New York State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany, evidence that purpose-built water training infrastructure is becoming a national priority.

For water-safety agencies, marina operators, and recreation facility owners, the event underscores a broader trend: dependable on-water infrastructure is a core part of any professional waterfront operation. Stable floating platforms for staging areas, safe access to training zones, and protection for boats moored alongside the course all matter when lives are at stake. HIGHER, a global OEM/ODM manufacturer with 13 years of drop-stitch expertise, supplies commercial-grade marina inflatables — inflatable floating docks, inflatable dock platforms, inflatable swim platforms, floating water mats, inflatable dock floats, and inflatable fenders — as complete inflatable dock solutions for marinas and boat docks. Every unit passes a rigorous 48-hour pressure-retention test before shipment, meeting the reliability standards that professional operators demand.

Looking for a factory-direct partner for your next waterfront project? HIGHER engineers reliable inflatable solutions for commercial docks, marinas, and training facilities.