In the excitement of 1,000 children and 150 volunteers creating spectacular human aerial art on Repulse Bay Beach in Hong Kong today, Adrian, Ryan and Liina took the time to pick up a bunch of discarded plastic from the shoreline.

They created a Rainbow Trash-Wheel to demonstrate one of the goals of Kids Ocean Day: to inspire children to make a difference.

And that is precisely what the Plastic Disclosure Project by Ocean Recovery Alliance (Hong Kong) aims to do.

A nominee for the World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year, led by Doug Woodring (shown on left), is working hard at events, conferences, school, corporations and institutions to make a difference in our mindsets and oceans.

Its nomination reads, “The increasing plasticity is acknowledged as one of the ocean’s devastating problems. The Plastic Disclosure Project, created by the Ocean Recovery Alliance, is a means to help educate and encourage society about how everyone can play a vital role in reducing this problem.

Through an easy-to-understand list of alternatives and an easy-to-implement list of solutions, the Plastic Disclosure Project encourages open water race directors and athletes to play a vital role in reducing the impact of plastic on our environment in order to keep the world’s oceans healthy and plastic-free. For its attempts and recommendations on how to practically deal with the growing menace of ocean garbage, for offering practical solutions that can be reasonably implemented by individuals, corporations and governments, the Plastic Disclosure Project is a worthy nominee for the 2013 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year.“

The nominees World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year includes a variety of products, services and concepts in the open water swimming world. The nominees include the following:

1. 21 Yaks and A Speedo, Storytelling Life Lessons by Lewis Pugh (U.K.)
2. Amphibia Sports Ring, Simple Silicone Solution For Swimmers (Ireland)
3. Bold & Beautiful, A Pod by the Shore (Australia)
4. Driven, Documenting Distance and Dedication (U.S.A.)
5. FINIS Agility Paddles, Training Tools of the Trade (U.S.A.)
6. Global Open Water Swimming Conference, Culminating In Cork (Ireland)
7. International Ice Swimming Association, Cooling To The Extreme (South Africa)
8. Ocean-navi, Navigating Throughout The Pacific (Japan)
9. Ocean Swimming & Prone Paddleboarding for Athletes with Spinal Cord Injuries (U.S.A.)
10. Open Water Swimming Manual: An Expert’s Survival Guide by Lynne Cox (U.S.A.)
11. Oru Kayak, Origami of the Open Water (U.S.A.)
12. Ouma Academy, Swimming The Sea (Tunisia)
13. Plastic Disclosure Project by Ocean Recovery Alliance (Hong Kong)
14. Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association, Far Forward Thinking In The Ocean (U.S.A.)
15. Swim Smooth, Styling Streamlined Swimming (Australia/U.K.)

Online voting takes place here.

Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association