Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue Conference

05/28/2026

🚨 New Pre-Conference Training Opportunity 🚨

Paddling for Water Rescuers
💲 $199 per person
👥 Limited to 20 students per day

🎟️ Conference Registration: $649 per person

This hands-on course focuses on paddling operations for inflatable rafts and IRBs when motors are unavailable, disabled, damaged, or tactically inappropriate.

Participants will build practical moving-water boat control skills including:

Coordinated paddle commands
Crew synchronization
Ferry angles
Eddy entry and exit techniques
Peel-outs
Defensive boat positioning

Ideal for rescue personnel who want to strengthen low-tech, high-reliability boat handling skills in dynamic water environments.

Seats are limited — register early.

05/06/2026

If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for the Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue Conference, now is your chance!

Registration is officially open, and seats are limited - don't miss out on this valuable training and networking opportunity. Secure your spot today at osufst.org

Check out a little bit of the 2025 conference at https://youtu.be/Ga50PV-3C4g

Oklahoma State University’s Fire Service Training program hosts the Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue Conference & Competition at RiverSport OKC, the nation’s large...

03/14/2026

Registration for the Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue Conference is now OPEN!!!!

Please visit osufst.org

August 24-28, 2026 at Riversport Adventures in Oklahoma City!!!

02/09/2026

We've been silent but conference announcement coming soon!!!

09/07/2025

Day 1 of Swiftwater Ops training in Broken Bow, OK. Good training for water rescue, doesn't start in the water!

We don't just have the best conference in the country, we also hold the best classes with the best instructors!

09/04/2025

https://news.okstate.edu/articles/engineering-architecture-technology/2025/osu_fire_service_training_provides_2025_oklahoma_swiftwater_rescue_conference_and_competition.html

Water rescues occur nearly every day in Oklahoma, where flash flooding is a recurring hazard and one of the deadliest severe weather threats. According to the National Weather Service, flash floods claim more than 100 lives annually in the United States and often place first responders themselves at...

09/04/2025

https://youtu.be/Ga50PV-3C4g

Oklahoma State University’s Fire Service Training program hosts the Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue Conference & Competition at RiverSport OKC, the nation’s large...

09/03/2025

🚨 Missed the Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue Conference this year? Don’t worry — 2026 is on the horizon! 🛶🌊

📅 Mark your calendars now and stay tuned — more details are coming soon. You won’t want to miss what’s next!

08/29/2025

Meet the 2025 Oklahoma Swiftwater Rescue winners!

2025 SW Competition Results:

Team #1 (eddy relay):

Carrolton, TX FD, 1:12:57
Columbia, MO FD
Tulsa FD

Team #2 (medley):

Logan-Rogersville, AR, 1:33:49
Columbia, MO
Reeves County, TX (Pecos)

Overall Team:

Columbia, MO
Carrolton, TX
Logan-Rogersville, AR

Individual #1 (Eddy):

Austin Addington, Tulsa FD, 1:01:08
Ryan Stephen, Tulsa FD
Justin Woodward, Reeves County, TX (Pecos)

Individual #2 (throwbags):

Greg Simpson, Gideon Rescue, OK, 37.57
Micah Dobecka, Carrolton, TX
Jeremiah Mefford, Tulsa

Individual Overall:

Austin Addington, Tulsa, OK
Greg Simpson, Gideon Rescue, OK
Micah Dobecka, Carrolton, TX

30 HP Boats:

Tulsa 1
Reeves County, TX (Pecos)
Tulsa 2

40 HP Boats:

McKinney, TX 2
McKinney, TX 1
Carrolton, TX

08/29/2025

The final day has come to an end. Now the planning starts for 2026!!!

Thank you to all of the departments that allowed their personnel to come out for a week of training. While it is a lot of fun, it is also a lot of hard work, both mentally and physically!

Participants: Thank you for working hard and trusting us with your training. We hope you enjoyed your time with us and that you'll come back again! If there is anything we can do better, please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know!

To our vendors & sponsors: we love having you and we couldn't do this without you!

Rescue South
Rescue Gear
Rescue Source
Whites Drywear
Anderson Rescue Solutions
Nightline
Deployed Logix
The Chickasaw Nation

We had the honor of hosting the Higgins & Langley awards this year and we hope to be chosen again.

Michael Harvey, we look forward to you coming back to see us soon and bringing more New Zealanders with you! We would love to show them the Oklahoma hospitality as well!

Last but certainly not least, osu-fst instructors and all of the instructors that come out from all over the US. We couldn't do any of this without you and we appreciate all of your contributions and sacrifices!

We can't wait to see you all again next year!!!