Advice for athletes considering attending FINA World Masters Championships

Athletes planning a trip to Japan for the 19th FINA World Masters Championships next year are being advised to consider carefully before committing to travel or accommodation bookings.

It is understood that the event organisers are facing challenges to finalise arrangements for the competition, which is scheduled to take place from Tuesday 31 May until Thursday 9 June 2022, which could potentially lead to the changes in location and/or date.

The exact dates for each discipline are yet to be confirmed and the official website for the championships says the detailed schedule is ‘currently undecided’.

Information on the entry page says ‘details will be announced … as soon as they are decided’.

Around 10,000 people from 100 countries around the world are expected to take part in the swimming, diving, artistic swimming, water polo and open water swimming events.

Be cautious

The competition is currently due to be held across the three cities of Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima at seven different venues.

Nicola Latty, chair of the Home Countries Masters Swimming Group, said: “While there are a lot of uncertainties surrounding the event, we would advise anyone who was thinking of heading out to Japan to be cautious before making any bookings.

“The last thing we want to see is our members paying out money for flights or accommodation only for the championships not to take place and then possibly being out of pocket.

“We’re working to clarify the exact situation and once we receive more detailed information, we will issue a further update.”