www.gulfnews.com: Dubai: Top swimmers like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are among the top swimmers expected to be here when the UAE plays host to the opening round of the Fina Arena Swimming World Cup 2011 in the first half of October.
GMM: Despite the tragedy of Fran Crippen's death at the FINA 10k Marathon World Cup, Dubai will host the debut (pool) competition of FINA's World Cup Series October 7th and 8th.
According to gulfnews.com, Ayman Sa'ad, Executive Director of U.A.E. Swimming Association, said, "After what happened last year, we were not too keen in hosting rounds on the open water championships. And this competition is something that can take swimming in this part of the world to a different level."
FINA, swimming's international governing body, has been blamed by some world-class swimmers and officials for Fran Crippen's death. They argue it was a lack of oversight.
FINA has also been criticized by some world-class swimmers for being too aggressive in their pursuit of generating revenue; forcing athletes to wear logo-ed bibs when they parade to the blocks at world championships.
FINA has, however, pushed and supported their World Cup Series, the first truly professional swimming platform. It's a slam-bang, seven-weeks of exciting swimming competition. (USA Swimming has been slowly developing their pro swimming platform, the Grand Prix Series, and will likely be a strong rival to the World Cup in the near future.) FINA, despite any and all criticisms, deserves some credit for producing the World Cup Series. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
IS FINA GUIDING THE SPORT OF SWIMMING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? IS FINA DEVELOPING PLATFORMS THAT WILL ENHANCE PERFORMANCE AND ENSURE SAFETY?
Comments