Swimming passion on five continents

This is only the second year in the event’s nearly 20-year history that the competition calendar has been compacted to fit seven meets into a period of just five weeks in October and November. This is a significant change from the World Cup schedules of the past, when the meets extended from the end of one year to the beginning of the next. The new format allows athletes to stay focused on performing well during the Series at-hand, thus heightening the competition and generating increased media attention.

The new scoring system of the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup is based on points given in accordance with the value of performances registered in the FINA Points Table (updated July 1, 2008). The best performer of the meet receives 25 points, the second 20, and so on, with additional points awarded when a World Record is established and double points awarded in the last leg of the circuit. As such, swimmers aiming to win overall push their fitness and endurance level to the limit as they seek to achieve top-ranking performances week after week. If they succeed, they stand to win international acclaim and a cut of the more than US$1,1 million in prize money open to World Cup competitors (see Rules & Regulations for details).

A universally renowned competition series that consistently attracts some of the biggest names in swimming, the 2008 edition will be no different. Just last year, the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup 2007 featured athletes such as South Africa’s Gerhard Zandberg and Roland Schoeman, Australia’s Kenrick Monk and Eamon Sullivan, Tae-Hwan Park (KOR), Thiago Pereira (BRA), Stefan Nystrand (SWE), Milorad Cavic (SRB), and the winner, Randall Bal (USA). Among women, appearances included Marleen Veldhuis (NED), Yulia Efimova (RUS), Natalie Coughlin (USA), Sophie Edington (AUS), Antje Buschschulte (GER), Federica Pellegrini (ITA), Josefin Lillhage (SWE), Laure Manaudou (FRA) and the winner, Therese Alshammar (SWE).

Don’t miss the action and emotions from this fall’s FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup 2008. Tune in each week from around the world via LIVE Streaming on www.fina.org...