ANNAPOLIS, Md., February 17, 2011 – The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is asking boaters, sailors and anglers to vote now for their favorite new life jacket design entry in the “Innovation in Life Jacket Design Competition”.

To view the life jacket design entry submissions – including video footage of prototype demonstration - visit the Foundation’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/BoatUSFoundation.  

Hurry, because online voting ends Monday, February 28 and your vote will help the judges select the finalists.

Design entries will also be judged by a panel of boating safety experts who will evaluate the designs based on the following criteria: innovation, wearability, value/affordability, reliability, versatility and practicality. Finalists will get the chance to showcase their designs in person at the upcoming International Boating and Water Safety Summit in Savannah, Georgia. The winning designer will receive a $5,000 cash award.

The competition is a partnership of the BoatUS Foundation, Underwriters Laboratories and the Personal Floatation Device Manufacturers Association. The goal is to rethink a 100-year-old design, seek out the newest technologies and design innovations and develop interest in newer, more comfortable life jackets. For more information, visit the BoatUS Foundation Facebook page or go to www.BoatUS.com/Foundation/lifejacketdesign. 

###