Vollmer and Franklin Win on First Night of Arena Grand Prix at Orlando Three-day meet runs through Saturday, February 16 ORLANDO, USA--The third meet of the 2013 USA Grand Prix series begins today and continues through Saturday (February 14-16) in Orlando, Florida. Results from the meet are available online here: http://www.swmeets.com/Realtime/Grand%20Prix/2013%20-%20Orlando/ Further information and coverage is available via here: http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2395&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en ORLANDO, Fla. – Olympic gold medalists Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) and Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) were each victorious on the first night of competition of the Arena Grand Prix at...

Barbados Nationals continues through Sunday BARBADOS--The 2013 Barbados Nationals began yesterday and continues through Sunday (February 12-17) in Wildey. http://swimbarbados.com/news/139/65/BASA-LONG-COURSE-NATIONAL-CHAMPIONSHIP-2013.html

Guadalajara and Rotterdam Out of 2018 Youth Olympics Race 2/13/2013 (ATR) The IOC cuts Guadalajara and Rotterdam from the field of 2018 Youth Olympic candidates, leaving three cities in the race. An IOC source confirmed the news to Around the Rings. Buenos Aires, Glasgow and Medellin advance to the next stage of the YOG 2018 bidding contest. The Mexican city exits the race having struggled with financial problems since staging the 2011 Pan American Games. Guadalajara was also stripped of several events including the International Equestrian Federation’s hosting rights for...

2013 Paragon Award Recipients Announced The Paragon Awards is sponsored by Paragon Aquatics and presented for outstanding contributions to Competitive Swimming, Water Polo, Competitive Diving, Aquatic Safety, Synchronized Swimming and Recreational Swimming. The Paragon Awards are presented at the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A. “The annual Paragon Awards bring some of the most interesting and fascinating people each year to the Hall of Fame,” said International Swimming Hall of Fame President/CEO Bruce Wigo. “These are the unsung heroes who make competitive swimming possible, who save...

Spanish championships will feature 5K and 10K races to serve as test event for FINA World Championships BARCELONA, SPAIN--The organizers of the 2013 World Championships today announced that the 2013 Spain Open Water Championships will serve as the Open Water test event for the 2013 Worlds. The Spanish championships are open, will feature 5K and 10K races, and appear to be the weekend of June 14-16. (Note: The Worlds organizers currently list the event as June 14+15, while the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation lists the dates as June 15+16.) Further...

St. Lucia ASA Celebrates 2012 Achievements The swimming fraternity celebrated the achievements of the swimmers, coaches and administration when St Lucia Amateur Swimming Association hosted the 2012 Swimming Awards ceremony at the St Lucia Yacht Club on Saturday 9th February 2013 The proceedings were spirited and had the buzz of all the young swimmers enjoying the activities in the casual environment of the Yacht Club. With an audience of over 140 persons, the achievements of 2012 were celebrated with the entire locally based victorious OECS Swim Team present. In his...

Sales Rubio and Geijo win Santa Fe (ARG) 88km-race FINA OPEN WATER SWIMMING GRAND PRIX 2013 Lausanne (SUI), February 11, 2013 – 24 swimmers (14 men, 10 women) participated on February 10 in the longest race of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix 2013, a 88km-effort in Hernandarias (ARG). Local heroes Luciano Sales Rubio (men) and Pilar Geijo (Women) won their races, in a time of 9h39m42s00 and 9h49m53s00 respectively. It was the first triumph of the season for Sales Rubio – fourth in Santa Fe (ARG) – and...

KINGSTON, JAMAICA--The Pan American Sports Organization is holding an Extraordinary General Assembly on February 7-8 in Kingston, Jamaica. On the agenda, reportedly, are: a report from the host of the 2015 Pan American Games, presentations by the bidders for the 2019 Pan Am Games, and proposals for Olympic Solidarity and Pan American Solidarity programs for 2013-16. The following are reports from correspondents from Around The Rings You can subscribe at: https://www.aroundtherings.com/subscribe.aspx PASO Treasury Seems Strong During his report as treasurer, Danilo Carrera said that PASO’s finances are strong. PASO's head...

FINA has updated its posted anti-doping statistics LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND--FINA has updated its posted anti-doping statistics for last year, so that now information on all of the tests conducted in 2012 is posted. Previously, first quarter testing numbers were available. In 2012, FINA conducted 1,859 anti-doping tests: 1240 out-of-competition and 619 in-competition. These tests were conducted on 692 swimmers (out-of-competition) and 421 swimmers (in-competition). By continent, the numbers of tests conducted were: Continent out in Africa: 38 18 Americas: 223 123 Asia: 258 95 Europe: 568 312 Oceania: 153 71 Number...

USA Swimming Releases Safe Sport Handbook COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Swimming today announced the release of its first-ever Safe Sport Handbook which is designed to help USA Swimming members implement safe sport practices at the local level. The Safe Sport Handbook includes detailed information on USA Swimming policies, guidelines, best practices, strategies and tools. It will be an invaluable tool for all USA Swimming members and clubs and will be available online. http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/eca565d6-d11a-4c85-b5bd-307de73b6558/Safe%20Sport%20Handbook-FINAL.pdf The handbook will also be mailed to each of USA Swimming’s 2,790 member clubs. “Over the...