Eilat, in the Red Sea Bay, Israel, is the perfect holiday destination but also the ideal place to host an international open water event: optimal conditions such as clear and calm water, constant year-round water temperature, iconic views and colourful fishes are all the element the seaside resort offers.
With one last preparation day, Eilat is set to provide a festive and dreamy backdrop for the three-day FINA World Junior’s Open Water Swimming Championships 2018, kicking-off on Thursday September 6 and running until Saturday September 8.
Amongst the 212 young talents (from 36 countries) that will take the plunge in the Red sea (estimated water temperature today of 24,5°C) the next generation of open water swimming stars will hopefully be revealed.
On the occasion, Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev welcomed the swimmers to the Athletes Village perfectly located a five-minute walk from the venue:
“It is a great honour to be the host country for such a key and catalyst event in these young people’s sporting career. These talented swimmers make up the future generation of open water champions and there is quite a chance that participants who excel in this competition will reach the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”
Eilat is an appreciated and experienced host as the city organised the European Open Water Swimming Championships in 2011 and has since then been staging annual competitions.
As always, the Championships reserves several compelling storylines. Let’s take a look at the delegations present in Eilat!
The biggest delegations are: Brazil with 12 swimmers (as well as 6 members of staff), Canada with 12 swimmers (7 staff), South Africa with 12 swimmers (3 staff), Russia with 12 swimmers (14 staff) and the U.S. with also the maximum number of swimmers which is 12 (2 by event and by gender) and 7 staff members.
On the other hand, Colombia has 1 swimmer taking part in the 7.5KM, New Zealand is represented by 1 swimmer in the 10KM race and Slovakia and Switzerland have also 1 swimmer each in respectively the 10KM and 7.5KM events.
You can take a look at the complete Entry Lists here.
The competition schedule’s is divided into 3 days:
Thursday Sept 6
08:00 - 5KM - Boys 14-15*
08:10 - 5KM - Girls 14-15*
10: 00 - 7.5KM - Boys 16-17**
10:10 - 7.5KM - Girls 16-17**
12:00 Award Ceremonies
Friday Sept 7
08:00 - 10KM - Boys 18-19***
08:10 - 10KM - Girls 18-19***
11:00 Award Ceremonies
Saturday Sept 8
08:00 - Relay event - 14-16
10:00 - Open Relay Event
11:30 Award Ceremonies
The 5KM race requires 3 laps*, the 7,5KM race 5 laps**, while the 10KM is 6laps***.
This morning kicked off with the technical meeting to review the safety and security instruction as well as overall organisation of the Championships.
While all group races will be live streamed on the official website: www.fina-eilat2018.com and on FINAtv, daily race reports will also be available on FINA website. For the first time ever at an open water competition, a new innovative technology will be tested in Eilat. An interactive map will be following the swimmers trajectory and underwater cameras and drone footage will offer a very comprehensive coverage of all the races.
You can also follow live everything happening on site on the event Instagram and Facebook pages:
IG: @fina_eilat2018
FB: Eilat 2018
The Parade of Nations will be taking place tonight (Wednesday September 5) at 6pm and will be followed by the Opening Ceremony at 7pm. The inauguration speeches and show will be followed by a welcome dinner at the Athletes Village.