With the 2020 FINA Swimming World Cup Series dwindled down to just 4 stops from its original 6, FINA has announced the cancellation of this year’s edition.
‘Despite the 2020 host cities of the Swimming World Cup continuously showing their interest to stage the competition this year, the recommendation of the FINA Task Force appointed to review the situation is to postpone it to next year in order to ensure the safety of the athletes and all stakeholders involved,’ reads the organization’s announcement regarding the 2020 cancellation.
As we reported in June, the nation of China announced that it will not stage most of its scheduled international sports events for the remainder of 2020. At the time we reached out to FINA to confirm this decision affected the 2nd stop of this year’s World Cup in Jinan, but did not receive a response.
Then in July, the Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) canceled its stop of the series due to the continued health concerns posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
If the 2020 FINA World Cup Series would have continued, it would have most likely included just 4 stops, making this year’s circuit the smallest-ever.
2020 FINA WORLD CUP SERIES SCHEDULE:
1. Singapore (SGP) – September 4-6
2. Jinan (CHN) – September 10-12
3. Kazan (RUS) – October 2-4
4. Doha (QAT) – October 8-10
5. Berlin (GER) – October 23-25
6. Budapest (HUN) – October 30 – November 1
With FINA‘s confirmation today that this year’s series is indeed cancelled, the world’s aquatic sports governing body has revealed the 2021 calendar, which is slated to bring 6 stops spanning September to October.
The first Cluster of the 2021 season will be contested in Singapore (SGP) and Jinan (CHN) in September with final dates to be confirmed soon. The circuit will then move to the second Cluster as Berlin (GER) and Budapest (HUN) step in to stage the event from October 1-3 and October 7-9 respectively. The third and final Cluster will be staged in Doha (QAT) from October 21-23 and finally in Kazan (RUS) from October 28-30.
With the series taking place after the postponed Olympic Games, the 2021 World Cup will compete in a short course meters (25m) pool, with each stop representing a qualifying event for the also-postponed Short Course World Championships scheduled for December of that year.
The successful annual circuit of the FINA Swimming World Cup distributes around US$ 2.5 million in prize money.
2021 FINA Swimming World Cup calendar:
Cluster #1
1. Singapore (SGP) – September tbc *
2. Jinan (CHN) – September tbc*
Cluster #2
3. Berlin (GER) – October 1-3
4. Budapest (HUN) – October 7-9
Cluster #3
5. Doha (QAT) – October 21-23
6. Kazan (RUS) –October 28-30
*The World Cup could kick-off in either of these Asian cities, dates will be confirmed at a later stage
