EnergyAustralia announces FINA and IPC teams

With the EnergyAustralia Swimming Championships just over, the Australian Swimming Federation announced the teams that will represent Australia at the 2013 FINA and IPC World Championships in Barcelona and Montreal respectively. Michael Scott, Swimming Australia Director of High Performance, said: “We’ve seen more than 20 athletes produce personal best times to gain selection for this year’s FINA and IPC world championships and that’s a really promising sign. We’ve got 86 days until we compete for Australia in Barcelona and the challenge now is to improve further on the standards that athletes and coaches have set themselves this week.  The next stage is about being professional in everything we do including enhancing the performance culture of the team.”

Swimming officials school in Port Moresby (PNG)

The 2013 edition of the FINA Swimming Officials schools in Oceania was successfully hosted by PNG Swimming Inc. at the Gateway Hotel in Port Moresby from April 6-7. The school had a total of 36 participants made up of past swimmers, school teachers, coaches and parents.

The school was opened by PNG Swimming Inc. patron Bart Philemon, who welcomed the participants and course experts Don Blew, FINA TSC Vice Chairman and Soren Korbo, FINA TSC Honorary Secretary and then introduced the PNG Government Minister for Sports and Pacific Games, Justin Tkatchenko to open the FINA Officials school and speak on the preparations of the XV Pacific Games 2015.

FINA thinking of changing breaststroke rule

FINA, in a move believed by some as a way around introducing underwater cameras in disputes and appeals, may relax the rules on breaststroke to allow multiple dolphin kicks at the start of races, according to former 1500m great Vladimir Salnikov.

Now the president of the Russian swim federation, Salnikov today tells the Russian swim community that breaststroke swimmers would be allowed to take multiple dolphin kicks during the first 15m of races. Currently, rules allow one kick, with many using more but getting away with it because officials on the deck cannot see through the splash generated by the dive at the start of races. The one-kick rule will remain in place at turns, when there is no splash to block the view of judges on the poolside.

FINA changes policy on FINA World Cup series

Two European rounds of the FINA World Cup, one set for Eindhoven and another in Berlin, are due to be staged immediately after the World Championships in Barcelona this summer to catch the wave of fit athletes in peak race form before they depart for summer breaks.

The World Cup series has longed suffered from poor attendance when it comes to attracting quality fields. Many rounds of the cup are largely domestic events with a sprinkling of world-class swimmers from leading nations either dipping in to selected rounds to test themselves at a time of training or taking on the series in pursuit of the $100,000 prize available to best man and best woman on a points score.