Over 220 divers from 40 countries have rendezvous in London (GBR) for the 18th edition of the FINA Diving World Cup, to take place from February 20-26 in the Olympic Aquatic Centre. This competition will be both a qualifying and test event for the 2012 Olympic Games, to be held from July 27-August 12, 2012 in the British capital.

As qualifying competition, the 2012 FINA Diving World Cup is the last step in the procedure of selecting the divers for the Games – eight events are on the programme: 3m springboard (individual and synchro) and 10m platform (individual and synchro) for men and women –, after the selection through the 14th FINA World Championships Shanghai 2011 and the continental qualification. In individual events, this World Cup will qualify 18 of the 34 participants in the Olympic Games, while in the synchro events, four teams out of eight will be selected.

As test event, this World Cup will be the main opportunity for the best divers in the world to set their references and get familiar with the Aquatic Centre, the facility to be used for the Olympic competition in August.

> Entries for the 18th FINA Diving World Cup 2012: click here.

> Qualified NF/NOC already qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games: click here.

The first edition of the World Cup was held in 1979, with only two events on the programme for both men and women: 3m springboard and 10m platform. Since 2000, the event is held in even years and the diving programme was upgraded to include the following events: 1m springboard, 3m springboard individual and synchro, 10m platform individual and synchro.