FINA has posted the Swimming order of events for the 2012 Olympics, including estimated timelines for when each event will start. That posting can be found on the FINA website here:

http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2683&Itemid=1246

The competition dates for Swimming are July 28-August 4, 2012; prelims sessions begin at 10:00 a.m.; finals at 7:30 p.m. Finals event order is as follows (final, unless noted as semifinal):

DAY 1: SATURDAY JULY 28, 2012
—————————–
men’s 400 IM
women’s 100 fly (semifinal)
men’s 400 free
women’s 400 IM
men’s 100 breaststroke (semifinal)
women’s 400 Free Relay

DAY 2: SUNDAY JULY 29, 2012
—————————–
women’s 100 fly
men’s 200 free (semifinal)
women’s 100 breaststroke (semifinal)
men’s 100 breaststroke
women’s 400 free
men’s 100 back (semifinal)
women’s 100 back (semifinal)
men’s 400 Free Relay

DAY 3: MONDAY JULY 30, 2012
—————————–
women’s 200 free (semifinal)
men’s 200 free
women’s 100 back
men’s 100 back
women’s 100 breaststroke
men’s 200 fly (semifinal)
women’s 200 IM (semifinal)

DAY 4: TUESDAY JULY 31, 2012
—————————–
men’s 100 free (semifinal)
women’s 200 free
men’s 200 fly
women’s 200 fly (semifinal)
men’s 200 breaststroke (semifinal)
women’s 200 IM
men’s 800 Free Relay

DAY 5: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1, 2012
—————————–
men’s 200 breaststroke
women’s 100 free (semifinal)
men’s 200 back (semifinal)
women’s 200 fly
men’s 100 free
women’s 200 breaststroke (semifinal)
men’s 200 IM (semifinal)
women’s 800 Free Relay

DAY 6: THURSDAY AUGUST 2, 2012
—————————–
men’s 50 free (semifinal)
women’s 200 breaststroke
men’s 200 back
women’s 200 back (semifinal)
men’s 200 IM
women’s 100 free
men’s 100 fly (semifinal)

DAY 7: FRIDAY AUGUST 3, 2012
—————————–
women’s 200 back
men’s 100 fly
women’s 800 free
men’s 50 free
women’s 50 free (semifinal)

DAY 8: SATURDAY AUGUST 4, 2012
—————————–
women’s 50 free
men’s 1500 free
women’s 400 Medley Relay
men’s 400 Medley Relay

Changes to the Olympic Selection Policy (pool)

FINA has recently announced changes to the SWIMMING Qualification Procedure for the London 2012 Olympic Games in respect to qualifying timelines. The qualification period in which athletes are required to post an Olympic Qualifying Time (FINA ‘A’ time) has changed from 1st March 2011 – 3rd July 2012 to 1st March 2011 – 18th June 2012.

Given that British Swimming has a second Olympic trials 20-23 June, the bringing forward of the final date for athletes to post a FINA A time to the 18th June has implications on the existing British Olympic Selection policy. However, FINA has since agreed that performances from the ASA Nationals 20-23 June can be accepted on condition that FINA is notified of the total final number of British swimmers (not names) that will enter the Games by the 18th June. An additional clause has therefore been incorporated into the existing policy to reflect this change.
The maximum 26 male and 26 female athlete places will be maintained and any downward adjustment to numbers (if necessary) will be made following the March trials when the athlete numbers are submitted to FINA.

In addition to the above, other amendments to the Olympic policy include:
1. Further clarity that Olympic qualification standards in individual events must be achieved in the trials final.
2. Individual event times achieved by swimmers qualifying for the relays at the March trials will be allowed to stand when filling any remaining places in individual events in June i.e. relay swimmers will also have the choice not to rest and shave for the June trials in their preparation for the desired results at the Olympics.
3. Clarification that times posted in the foreign finals at the March trials will not be considered
4. Change to the date period that team members must comply with the British Olympic Association (BOA) media rules as set out in the BOA Team Members agreement.
The revised policy will be published following endorsement by the British Technical Committee and the BOA.
BOA Powerade Offer – A note for athletes

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has secured Powerade products from Coca-Cola, one of the IOC’s Official Partners, and these products are being made available via the BOA to Olympic sports free of charge. There is no commercial agreement in place and no rights are being granted.

Before you proceed with this opportunity please be aware that unlike the supply of Lucozade products made available by British Swimming, the provision of the Powerade product does not come with warranties from the manufacturer that the product has been batch tested to the highest possible standards and that it does not contain any contamination from substances included on the WADA banned list. Furthermore there is no indemnity from the manufacturer providing a safeguard against any and all losses suffered by an athlete in the event that the warranties provided are breached.

It is also British Swimming’s policy to only supply products (for example Lucozade products) where appropriate warranties and indemnities are in place. Therefore, the use of these products does not come with any recommendation from British Swimming, we are simply passing on an opportunity to use products which will be commonly available to athletes at the Olympic Games through a top sponsor.

If you choose to use the product you do so entirely at you own risk and you are responsible for carrying out any due diligence on the product.

If you have been identified as an athlete on the Olympic Long List and wish to use the product please let Sarah Kennedy know by emailing sarah.kennedy@swimming.org. British Swimming acting as an agent (but without any liability whatsoever for the quality or fitness for purpose of the product) will arrange on your behalf for the product to be obtained from the BOA and be made available to you.

Review of the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) Model for Swimming and Disability Swimming

Communication Statement

British Swimming, GB Disability Swimming, the ASA, Swim Wales, Scottish Swimming and the British Swimming Coaches Association are working in partnership to undertake a comprehensive review of the current swimming LTAD model. The review is being chaired by Michael Scott, National Performance Director for swimming. Sarah Rowell, an independent consultant specialising in High Performance Sport reviews has been appointed to assist with the review.

The overall aim of the project is to comprehensively review the current LTAD models and establish the most appropriate (in terms of effectiveness, economy and efficiency) model to deliver the performance objectives of all key stakeholders.

A number of consultation activities are being planned to ensure that the review takes stock of the views of a wide range of stakeholder, including those of coaches, swimmers, parents and a range of international experts.

By the end of the review, which is expected to take 4-5 months, there will be a clear understanding of why the LTAD model is needed, what it needs to deliver and a clear model for the future that in response to this that fits the current swimming infrastructure. A key outcome of the review will be an implementation plan for ensuring the model can be delivered effectively, including the identification of roles, responsibilities, resources that will be needed.
———————————————-

The organizers of the 2013 World Championships, which are in Barcelona, have posted the competition dates for each discipline at the event:
-Swimming–July 28-August 4
-Open Water–July 20, 21, 24, 26 & 27
The Venue for 2013 is:
-Palau Sant Jordi: Swimming

Further information can be found on the events website:

http://www.bcn2013.com

The local organizers today also posted a water-quality report for the Open Water venue (Moll de la Fusta). The check is partially tied to an annual 200m swim at/near the 2013 venue, which will be swum this weekend.

http://www.bcn2013.com/noticias/optimal-water-quality-at-port-of-barcelona-102-en

The USA women’s relay swam to a short course World Record in the 400 Medley Relay at the 2011 Duel in the Pool in Atlanta, Georgia. In the first event of the meet, the USA’s team of Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer and Missy Franklin swam a
3:45.56 to take over 2 seconds off the existing World mark (3:47.97) swum by the USA team at the last Duel in the Pool in 2009. Coughlin led off the relay in USA Records for both the 50 and 100 back (26.98 and 55.97).

1 short-course European Record was also bettered:
-women’s 200 back: 2:00.83, Elisabeth Simmonds, Great Britain
(old= 2:00.91, Simmonds, 2009 Duel in the Pool)

Also of note:
-Denmark’s Lotte Friis swam close to the World & European Record in the short-course women’s 800 free. Friis won the event in 8:04.77, a quarter-of-a-second off Alessia Filippi’s mark of 8:04.53 swum in December 2008.
-The Europe women’s relays were both faster than the European Records in the events; and the women’s 400 Free Relay swam a second faster than the World Record in the event. The swimmers on the relay being from different countries prevent the swims being records.

Final overall score from the meet: USA-181.5, Europe 80.5. Results from the 2011 Duel in the Pool can be found online here:

http://www.omegatiming.com/index_home.htm#swimming/racearchives/2011/Duel/index_by_events.htm

The BSCA in partnership with the CPSU pleased to send you a link to the 18th edition of their newsletter RELAY – just click on the link below and open the PDF version on their website.

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/cpsu/newsandevents/relay/relay_wda60557.html

This issue includes the following articles:

CPSU 10-year anniversary celebrations
CPSU’s launch of Safeguarding Stars
CPSU’s launch of research into the experiences of children participating in organised sport
Challenges for disabled young athletes
Young people leading the way
The future of safeguarding research in sport
Disclosure of sexual abuse in sport organisations

The newsletter is aimed at everyone who works with children and young people in sport. To make it as relevant as possible, contributions are welcomed for future editions. The CPSU want to make sure that the content reflects the interests of readers.

They would be delighted to hear from you if:
- You would like to highlight any new or innovative work you are doing to safeguard children and young people
- You have a particular Policy/Law question that you would like to see in a future edition that may also benefit other readers

Just send any comments to hannah.mansell@nspcc.org.uk or lian.jackson@nspcc.org.uk.

From US Swimming website

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Forty-one top European swimmers will battle Team USA Dec. 16-17 at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Atlanta. The competition will take place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center and will be broadcast on NBC.

The men’s roster features 22 swimmers, including Olympians Markus Rogan (Austria), Laszlo Cseh (Hungary), Daniel Gyurta (Hungary) and Dominik Meichtry (Switzerland). The women’s side is made up of 19 swimmers, including Lotte Friis (Denmark) and Marleen Veldhuis (Netherlands), Gemma Spofforth (Great Britain) and Katinka Hosszu (Hungary), A complete roster can be found here.

The U.S. roster is led by Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo Calif.), and Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.). The meet will also feature 2011 World Championship gold medalists Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) and Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I) as well as Olympians Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) and Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), Brendan Hansen (Irvine, Calif.), Dana Vollmer (Granbury Texas) and Amanda Beard (Irvine, Calif.).The complete U.S. Team roster can be found online here.

The European All-Star Team’s overall head coach for the Duel in the Pool will be GB National Coach Dennis Pursley, however, European swimmers will also have the opportunity to have their personal coach at the event.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online here. USA Swimming will add additional seats to the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center for the event but less than 3,000 seats are available for each day of the competition.

Over $100,000 of prize money will be awarded at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. Swimmers will be awarded cash prizes for wins with world records commanding up to $15,000 and gold medals commanding $1,500.

The bi-annual Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport’s most exciting swimmers in a short course meters format. This is the fifth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming. Past Duels were held in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Three of the events pitted all-star teams from the U.S. against Australia and the event in 2009 saw the first competition between the U.S. and the squad of European all-stars. The U.S. is 4-0 in the history of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool.