The Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) will incorporate a series of innovations in the 2017 edition of the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup, aiming at attracting more Stars and improve the exposure and visibility of this top-level event.
Speaking about the improvements, the FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione said, “Our goal is always to organise great events with the presence of our Stars. Giving them additional recognition and visibility will certainly foster their participation and involvement with the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup. The continuous support of prestigious cities, with emblematic venues, is also a guarantee of success for this fundamental competition in our calendar.”
Scheduled to be held between August and November, competition in 2017 (in 25m-pool) will comprise nine legs in accordance with the following circuit:
Cluster 1 | Cluster 2 | Cluster 3 |
Moscow (RUS), August 2-3 | Doha (QAT), September 22-23 | Beijing (CHN), November 10-11 |
Berlin (GER), August 6-7 | Dubai (UAE), September 26-27 | Tokyo (JPN), November 14-15 |
Eindhoven (NED), August 11-12 | Hong Kong (HKG), September 30 – October 1 | Singapore (SGP), November 18-19 |
Changes
The main improvements, which are to be implemented as soon as this year, focus on:
- Olympic and World medallists will have direct access to finals;
- Maximum of 25 events per leg – over a three-leg cluster, each event (i.e. 50m breast, 200m back, 400m IM, 1500m free…) is swum twice and up to six times during the Series;
- Increased awards for each race, with the first six ranked swimmers getting prize money (total per race: US$ 3’900). Relays will also be entitled to prize money. The overall amount for prize money will ascend to over US$ 2 million;
- Maximum of four individual races (plus relays) per swimmer/per leg;
- Enhanced sport presentation and TV production in all legs;
- Additional promotional activities on-site, involving the participating Stars;
- The medal ceremonies will be held at the end of each day, in the form of a Parade of Champions.
These new features received favourable feedback from athletes and coaches, and FINA wants to definitively consolidate World Cup’s status as the most important swimming event outside the frame of the FINA World Championships and FINA World Swimming Championships (25m).