World Aquatics Launches Open Water Swimming World Rankings
World Aquatics has launched, for the first time ever, its Open Water Swimming World Ranking system, creating new and exciting opportunities for athletes and National Federations, it announced on Wednesday.
The World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Ranking serves as an objective, merit-based method to measure athletes’ performances over the previous 24 months, calculated using a maximum of eight of their best results.
For each result, the ranking takes into account the competition level, event distance, the quality of the field and time elapsed since the event.
The rankings can be found here, and the parameters for the ratings are here.
Athletes will automatically be included in the World Aquatics Ranking after competing during the 24-month period in competitions ranked at either Tier One, applying to the Olympic Games and World Aquatics Championships, or Tier Two, covering World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cups. The World Aquatics Ranking will be connected to a World Calendar featuring all World Aquatics-recognised competitions in open water swimming.
The World Aquatics Ranking system is a dynamic resource aimed at supporting athletes in the progress of their careers and provides an international reference point of their performances in comparison to their peers. The World Aquatics Ranking also serves as a platform to create sponsorship opportunities and content for broadcasters and the media.
National Federations will benefit from the new system too, as it provides a fair and transparent way to help determine team selections. There is also the potential for the World Aquatics Ranking to be used as a qualification or seeding tool for future World Aquatics competitions.
World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam underlined the significance of introducing the World Aquatics Ranking system.
“Creating the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Ranking is an exciting step forward for open water swimming. World Aquatics recognises the excellence of our athletes and this initiative demonstrates our commitment to supporting them throughout their careers, helping to maximise their opportunities for sponsorship and exposure,” Al-Musallam said. “We are confident the new World Aquatics Ranking system will further enhance the profile of open water swimming, build even greater interest in the sport and benefit the global aquatics family for many years to come!
— The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with World Aquatics. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.
