Finswimming Masters
Master competitions are reserved to athletes, men and women, over 30 years of age. There is an ever-growing interest for finswimming master competitions. Masters compete according to their age group, and it is not unusual to see swimmers over 80 years old participating in high level competitions.
The first masters' competition was organised in 2014 in the form of a World Cup. The competition was held over two days, the first comprising swimming-pool events and the second dedicated to open-water. In the following years the annual Masters' World Cup was held in various countries.
The success of the 2018 competition, with swimmers representing four continents, was such that it was decided to organise the first Master World Championship. It was held in Ravenna in 2019 with 300 swimmers present and more than 1000 entries.
Nowadays the master categories start at 30 and proceed by 10 year increments. The separation of disciplines allowed to expand the swimming-pool program which now covers two days with 10 individual events and two relays. Due to the pandemic the swimming-pool master competitions of 2020 and 2021 were European Championships.
From 2022 the normal schedule resumed with a second World Championship in Cali, Colombia, the Open Water one taking place in Viverone, Italy.
Having a masters championship offers CMAS the possibility to test new competition formulas. For instance the multiple-mixed relay which will appear in the senior/junior championships program from next year was first (successfully) tested in the masters' competition.
In order to promote the participation in the masters competitions, CMAS has lifted all restrictions regarding participation of masters in seniors' events. To put it in a nutshell, to be a master an athlete must simply be at least 30 years old.
Moreover all specific master rules are now part of the main Finswimming rule book, conveying thus a parity in status between the older and younger age categories.
Finally CMAS is one of the rare international bodies who recognise officially World, Zone and Continental records for the masters' age groups.
