Fina wants sweeping changes

Swimming | admin | April 17, 2011 at 8:22 am

Fina, the world governing body for swimming, has recommended sweeping changes in the organisation of the Fina 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup starting this season.
The changes have come about following the investigations launched by Fina following the death of American swimmer Francis Crippen when the final round of the event was held in Fujairah on October 23 last year.
The task force has called for “revisions and refinements” to the rules and regulations laid down by Fina for hosting such long-distance competitions around the world.
The task force has concluded that there were rules which were overlooked or inadequately fulfilled by the UAE Organising Committee, especially rules that were related to the safety of the competitors.
Lack of oversight
“This was compounded by a lack of thorough oversight of implementation of rules by the Fina technical delegate,” the report has observed.
It may be recalled that there was a huge outcry following Crippen’s unfortunate death during the course of the final round of the 2010 Fina 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup in Fujairah.
The task force has remarked that “there was no mandatory certificate of suitability for the use of the venue issued by the local health and safety authorities”.
“There was also no liability insurance cover signed and in place while it is a Fina requirement,” the report has stated.
Much of the attention of the task force has been reserved for improving safety at various venues in the future. Calling for an update on Fina rules and guidelines, the task force has stressed on the roles and responsibilities of referees, judges various sub-committees and Fina technical delegates among others during the course of competitions.
The task force has also laid more importance on safety equipment standards, qualification of lifeguards, escort boats and safety boats ratio.
The task force has called for a further firming up of regulations followed by Fina during the bidding and allocation of events to member nations to organise various events during the year.