FINA

Alan Charleston (72) is probably the oldest water polo player of a high stature competing at the XII FINA World Championships water polo competition in Perth this week.
He competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics for Australia and, as a native of Perth, played for the Melville team in the 65+ age group. The team was the only one competing in this age group and thus collected gold.

Also in the team was the sharp left-hander Tom Hoad, a legend in the world of water polo. Hoad played at Olympic Games from 1960 until 1972 and coached at the next four while commentating at the next two : 10 successive Olympics. He also attended the last two in other capacities. He is the CEO of the XII FINA Masters Championships.

From the Dreamtime and the deep throb of the didgeridoo came more than 2000 people to celebrate the Opening Ceremony of the XII FINA Masters Championships at Challenge Stadium in Perth, Australia.
With nearly 5000 competitors from 80 National Federations, the Championships kicked off with a huge party in Challenge's main hall.
With the traditional owners of the land giving the welcoming dance, the championships were underway with Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter making the keynote speech.

Perth is waiting for you!

It’s coming; and the World’s Masters have taken notice. In April 2008, Challenge Stadium in Perth, Western Australia will be the setting of the 12th FINA World Masters Championships, and organisers say it will be the best ever.

In addition to the fact that Perth, considered one of the world’s most exciting new destinations, boasts more sunny days per year than any other Australian capital city, and Western Australia is famous for its long days of sunshine, cloudless blue skies and brilliant beaches, competitors have a lot to look forward too.

Challenge Stadium, for example, is one of the best aquatic facilities in the southern hemisphere and is the world’s only aquatic competition venue to have hosted two FINA World Championships – the 6th and 8th FINA World Championships in 1991 and 1998. The Stadium’s aquatic centre comprises one 50m eight-lane indoor swimming pool, an indoor diving and water polo pool, two 50m outdoor swimming pools and an outdoor water polo pool. All 26-lap swimming lanes are protected by wash-proof lane ropes that provide “quiet water” for swimmers in all lanes.

American swimmer Suzanne Heim-Bowen describes her Masters career, which was celebrated in 2007 with her induction into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame, as a step-by-step process that has lead to unexpected success. To date, she has 23 FINA Masters world records in freestyle events ranging from 100m to 1,500m, and she has won two FINA Masters World Championship 3km events.

When she was just 19 years old, she saw a group of ‘older’ folks training and having fun and wanted to join in, mainly to stay in shape and keep her weight down. But as she progressed, and her open water career developed, she had to train more seriously to make sure she was ready for 20-30 mile swims. Today, she has participated in many aspects of Masters swimming – postal long-distance, long distance open water swims, and finally, pool swimming. “My Masters swim career has been a bit ‘backwards’…,” she notes, “most people move from pool to open water…I did quite the reverse…and I have a unique stroke to prove it!” she jokes.

Judy Wilson of Great Britain, who was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame (IMHOF) in 2007, started Masters swimming in 1987 after her sons became old enough to look after themselves. Since then, she has continuously been among the world’s dominant Masters in a career that has spanned several age groups. “I started training to get fit and I just did a few local competitions,” she reflects, admitting that at first she was working full-time and did not have much time to train or attend many meets.

“After the boys left home and finished university,” she continues, “I was able to devote more time and I started to compete in European and World Championships.” She broke her first record in 1990 for 100m butterfly, and since then she has broken 48 more world records for butterfly and freestyle. She attended her first World Masters Championships in 1996, and has since accumulated 10 gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals. She calls her induction into the IMHOF last year her “biggest surprise and honour”.

Canadian Carol Fitzsimmons is now a legend of Masters synchronised swimming. On September 28, 2007, Fitzsimmons, along with eight other Masters athletes from around the world, was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame (IMSHOF) at the 5th Annual Honoree Induction Ceremony in Anaheim, California. It is an honour well-deserved for this passionate synchro diva, who has supported the growth of her sport both in and out of the pool since she began her career in 1969 at the age of nine.

She has competed at five FINA World Masters Championships and has been victorious at every single one of them. In 1994 (Montreal, Canada) she won the solo routine. Two years later (Sheffield, England in 1996) she won the figures, solo and duet competitions and was named Masters Athlete of the Year. In 2000 (Munich, Germany), her gold medal-count extended to four. In 2002 she went to Christchurch, New Zealand to win the solo, duet and team events, a performance she repeated in 2004 (Riccione, Italy). Currently, she is preparing to compete in the solo, duet and team events at the 2008 World FINA Masters in Perth, Australia, where she will also be coaching a team and two solo swimmers.

Competitions for masters in swimming, i.e, athletes who had finished competing in regular competitions, appeared more and more during the years 1970-1980 in some countries, such as the Americas, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. After some time, international competitions for Masters were also began to be organized, which in turn created interest in establishing a World Championships in swimming for Masters. The first attempt to formalise international masters swimming was made at the inaugural Age Group Aquatic Competition in Toronto, Canada in 1978, which was followed by casual meetings of national representatives in Sydney, Australia 1981 and Portland, USA 1982. Finally, a formal meeting was held on 12 April, 1983 in Sydney, which resulted in the formation of Masters Swimming – International (MSI). Gary Stutsel of Australia became the first President. At this time, MSI had only two financial members, but this changed dramatically in 1984 when seven new countries sought membership. The MSI Constitution, By-Laws and Competition Rules were adopted at the second MSI meeting in Christchurch New Zealand in April 1984. Interest in holding MSI Championships was so high that a provisional schedule was adopted, which included the first MSI World Championships in Tokyo, Japan 1986.

Karlyn Pipes Neilsen (USA) has been continuously breaking FINA Masters World Records over the span of four age-groups: 30-34, 35-38, 40-44, and 45-49. To this day, she retains 53 FINA Masters World records, as well as over 95 United States Masters National records, although throughout her career her world-record tally exceeds 150. In 2007, her accomplishments were immortalised when she was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame.