FINA Boss Says Barcelona World Champs Not in Peril; 2020 Bids Hit Russian Trail (10/31/2012 AROUND THE RINGS) Amid speculation that FINA could drop Barcelona as host of the 2013 World Aquatics Championships due to financial problems, President Julio Maglione tells Around the Rings that financial agreements have now been signed. ATR understands that FINA had approached Tokyo and Shanghai to replace Barcelona until the guarantees were inked. Maglione denied that Barcelona could still be stripped of hosting rights, saying financial agreements had been negotiated and he had received assurances...

1st FINA Gold Medal Swimming Coaches Clinic, what a success! The 1st FINA Gold Medal Swimming Coaches Clinic concluded successfully with more than 200 swimming coaches from a hundred nations. The golden opportunity to exchange ideas, experience and knowledge with top-level coaches from swimming powerhouses like USA, Australia or China was praised by many participants. The coaches attending the clinic were offered a wide range of visions of coaching, practical training cycles, personal experiences, motivation tips for swimmers, and many pieces of advice on the balance between training and life...

Todd Schmitz Speaks at 1st FINA Gold Medal Swimming Coaches Clinic October 29, 2012 MOSCOW - The 1st FINA Gold Medal Swimming Coaches Clinic opened in Moscow, Russia with 200 swimming coaches representing more than a hundred National Federations. For two days, each top-level coach to present at the clinic will speak about his own experience and the specific coaching of an Olympic champion from the 2012 London Olympic Games. Today, following FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione’s official opening and welcome message, six coaches took up the stage to...

Michael Phelps visits Brazil and says he will attend Rio 2016™ Olympic Games Former American swimmer met with Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of Rio 2016™ in his first visit to the next Olympic Games’ host city, saying he intends to be back in the city for the Games Holding the greatest number of Olympic medals in history, the former American swimmer Michael Phelps told the president of the Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee Rio 2016, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, that not even his coming retirement would keep him away from the...

FINA Post Qualifying Procedures for 2014 Youth Olympics FINA has posted qualifying information for the Swimming and Diving competitions at the 2014 Youth Olympics, in Nanjing, China. The qualifying structure for Swimming is mostly the same for 2014 as it was for 2010, with the notable exceptions that 800 free has been added and there is now a 4-year age range (swimmers born in 1996-1999). The Swimming and Diving qualifying systems can be found online here: -Swimming: http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/yog2014/sw_qual.pdf -Diving: http://www.fina.org/H2O/docs/events/yog2014/dv_qual.pdf

China, Japan and Korea Bidding for 2019 and 2021 FINA World Championships Lausanne (SUI), October 27, 2012 – The National Federations of China, Japan and Korea (in all cases, cities to be confirmed) have expressed their intention to be involved in the bid process for the organisation of the 2019 FINA World Championships, and eventually for the 2021 edition. The next steps concerning these bids are: - January 16, 2013: Meeting to take place between FINA and interested National Federations/Cities in Lausanne. FINA will provide the interested NF’s and Cities...

CCCAN Leaders Meet in Miami, Designate El Salvador for 2013 CCCAN Championships MIAMI, USA--Representatives from the Central American & Caribbean Swimming Association (CCCAN), met this past weekend in Miami, Florida. The meeting was coordinated to be en-route for those headed to Moscow, Russia for the 2nd World Aquatics Convention. Among items decided at the seminar was that the 2013 CCCAN Championships will be held in San Salvador, El Salvador from June 25-July 7. The championships are held every 2 years, and feature competition in all 5 Aquatics disciplines.

MEMO TO: UANA Member Federations Attending FINA World Aquatics Convention RE: A reminder of the Invitation to attend UANA Social Reception WHEN: Tuesday October 30, 2012 @ 18:00h - 6:00 pm WHERE: Bar 24 located on the ground floor of the main building of the Crowne Plaza Hotel - World Trade Centre Convention Venue and immediately following the opening ceremonies of the FINA World Aquatics Convention. (7pm) With warmest regards, Dr. Margo Mountjoy - UANA International Relations Officer On behalf of Coaracy Nunes Filho - UANA President and Fernando Canales,...

FINA Recognizes Turks and Caicos Swimming Federation A newly formed Turks and Caicos Swimming Federation, with a revised and approved Constitution, has been approved by the FINA Bureau at its meeting in Moscow. The FINA Bureau also agreed to waive past dues when the Federation was not active. The new leadership of the Federation includes President Ben Stubenberg. The Federation has been given the endorsement of relevant Turks and Caicos government and sport officials in its new structure.

Richard Peterkin Prepares Run for PASO Presidency (AROUND THE RINGS) IOC member Richard Peterkin says he may run to succeed Mario Vazquez Rana as president of the Pan-American Sports Organization. Peterkin, the president of the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee, tells Around the Rings he announced over the weekend at a meeting of the Caribbean National Olympic Committees that he is forming an “exploratory committee” to study whether to run. He says the initial response is “encouraging,” but added: “I will seek feedback and advice from a wide range of advisers...