Today the teams had their first opportunity (for most of them) to test the Red Sea water in Eilat ahead of tomorrow’s first races (5km boys/girls 14-15 and 7,5km boys/girls 16-17).
After making sure to apply a thick layer of sun screen and adjust their cap, the Italians got ready in the teams’ area and were the first to jump head first in the warm water.
The local security chief gave the latest instructions and repeated one more time the lap trajectory for the swimmers to memorise.
The end of the first official day was highlighted by the Parade of Nations which saw the delegations walk from the Athletes’ Village to the Opening Ceremony venue.
Organising Committee Chairman as well as FINA TOWSC Events Sub-Committee Noam Zwi warmly welcomed the athletes and the officials:
“It is an honour and my great pleasure to welcome you all here today in Eilat. This is our first ever FINA event and we are very happy that FINA chose us to host such an important event. I would like to thank President Maglione and the TOWSC Chairman Ronnie Wong and all the Committee members who are greatly contributing to the success of this Junior World Championships with their expertise and knowledge of the discipline.”
“I also would like to thank the Mayor of Eilat Meir Yitzhak Halevi for all his efforts in making Eilat the sport capital city of Israel. Finally without the help of the Israel Swimming Federation and the Israeli Ministry of Sport and Culture this event would not have been possible and we would not be here today.”
“Our Championships start tomorrow and we will treat it with the upmost importance as the Olympic Games. Here we are testing new ideas in terms of TV coverage, live streaming and new graphic ideas so when you see these innovations implemented in Tokyo 2020, remember you first saw it in Eilat!”