FINA has opened last week, together with the Russian Swimming Federation, a new Centre for the Development of aquatic sports in Kazan, Russia, signing a cooperation agreement with the Republic of Tatarstan.
The Centre will be located at the Olympic Reserve School, in the same pool that hosted the FINA World Championships in 2015.
FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione and Minister of Sports of the Republic of Tatarstan Vladimir Leonov signed the agreement together.
The aims of the Centre are to provide aquatic athletes from different nations with training opportunities for competitions that fall under the FINA umbrella such as the World Championships but also the Olympic Games.
The Centre will also be used to host training courses for both athletes and coaches under the FINA Scholarship Programme and FINA Schools. There are plans in place to host an international FINA seminars as well.
While many of the benefits are for high performance athletes, local students will also take advantage from the new Centre.
The new Centre in Kazan joins the other training and Development Centres FINA already supports, namely: FINA Development Centre in Dakar (SEN), Thanyapura (Phuket, Thailand) - FINA Training Centre, Spire Institute (Geneva, OH, USA) - FINA Training Centre.
These hubs are used within the frame of the various FINA Scholarship and Development programmes.
FINA President Dr Julio C. Maglione, present at the inauguration last week, said:
"We are very happy to see the legacy of the FINA World Championships 2015 embodied by the inauguration of the Centre. It is a testimony of the impact of our signature event in the Tatarstan region. This Centre will not only welcome the world's swimming elite for training camps but will also serve as catalyst base for the future talents of our sport. FINA is fully supporting the project and is committed to collaborate with the local authorities to ensure a smooth operation of the Centre. "