FINA has finalized the schedule for the 2012 25m Short Course World Cup series that serves as the focal-point of the international short course “regular season” in swimming. This series has gotten bigger-and-bigger every year, both as a good training ground for swimmers around the world, and as a way to bring home some serious cash.
The 2012 stops on the tour will be:
Dubai, UAE – October 2nd-3rd, 2012
Doha, Qatar – October 6th-7th, 2012
Stockholm, Sweden – October 13th-14th, 2012
Moscow, Russia – October 17th-18th, 2012
Berlin, Germany – October 20th-21st, 2012
Beijing, China – November 2nd-3rd, 2012
Tokyo, Japan – November 6th-7th, 2012
Singapore, Singapore – November 10th-11th, 2012
The schedule will be nearly identical to that of 2011, with a three-stop run in Europe and a three-stop run in Southeast Asia, each in the same 6 cities. The exception is that the meet-opening Dubai stop is being coupled with an event in Doha, Qatar. This addition was likely made in anticipation of the upcoming 2014 World Short Course Championships that are being held there. The presence of a second meet in close vicinity should also raise the profile of the Dubai stop, which in years past has been orphaned and lightly-attended.
The meet will also go back to its headline-stop in Berlin, which is frequently the home to record-breaking swims. In 2011, we saw American Missy Franklin break the 200 short course meters World Record at that meet.
With 8 meets, this will be the biggest schedule since the 2005-2006 season, but FINA seems to have hit on a winning formula as the series becomes more popular every year – focusing on European and Asian stops, where athletes and fans seem to be more enthusiastic about the event. (They’re also willing to foot the over $150,000’s that each host city has to put into the prize pool.)
The big surprise is that FINA will also add mixed 200 meter free and medley relays to the event. That’s not only notable in that they’re co-ed relays, but also because they’re relays, period. The World Cup schedule hasn’t included any relays in the past. The co-ed part is part of a trend toward the idea worldwide – the Youth Olympic Games has co-ed relays, and earlier this year LEN announced that future editions of the European Championships will also have co-ed relays. The issue is if there will ever be enough countries at the meet to fill up a relay final.
South Africa’s Chad Le Clos is the defending men’s champion, and Sweden’s Therese Alshammar has won the last two women’s races. Still no word about what this year’s prizes will be, but last year the total cash handed out was $1.074 million. Those two countries have dominated the series for years, combining for 10 out of the 14 grand prize winners since the 2004/2005 season.
Whether Alshammar can win a third-straight (and 4th overall) title will be the highlight of the season, as she will be 35 by the start of the 2012 series.