The U.S. District Court in San Francisco has decided in favor of World Aquatics, in cases that had originally been opened in 2018. Two antitrust lawsuits had been filed: one directly by the International Swimming League (ISL) and another by swimmers Tom Shields (USA), Michael Andrew (USA), and Katinka Hosszu (HUN), with ISL’s support.
“World Aquatics is grateful to Judge Corley for her thoughtful and just decision. We are pleased that it brings an end to a period of uncertainty. And we are thankful for the clarity that the Court’s decision provides,” said World Aquatics President Captain Husain Al-Musallam. “This is an important decision and also a good decision, not just for World Aquatics, but for the Olympic Movement and beyond.”
The lawsuits had alleged unreasonable restraint of trade on the part of FINA, as World Aquatics was then known. The Court found that there had been no such action, saying: “The Court acknowledges the record is replete with evidence of FINA’s concern about competition from ISL. But, so what? The antitrust laws do not require one competitor to help another compete with it; instead, they prohibit only unreasonable restraints of trade.”
In granting World Aquatics’ motion for summary judgment, the Court agreed that ISL could always have put on its own swimming competitions independently and that World Aquatics together with its member federations do not have monopoly power to control competition: “It is undisputed that top-tier swimmers are not bound by contract to swim only in FINA-sanctioned competitions. Indeed, the undisputed evidence is that ISL can and does sponsor top-tier swimming competitions without any affiliation with member federations.”
The Court also found that World Aquatics had made no attempt to stop such competitions by sanctioning swimmers: “There is no rule (and never was) that allows FINA to penalize a swimmer who participates in a competition that is not affiliated with a member federation, and no evidence that FINA ever did, or even threatened to do so.”
Commenting on the decision, World Aquatics Executive Director Brent Nowicki said: “This was, and always has been, an avoidable controversy. We look forward to putting it behind us, as we look forward to delivering an exciting calendar of opportunities for all aquatics athletes, to whom World Aquatics remains deeply committed.”
Swimming South Africa kicked off the 2023 swimming season with a successful meet in Mpumalanga this weekend. The Invitational Grand Prix saw local swimmers put in their first laps of the pool for the year ahead of a busy season which also includes the swimming world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, between the 14th and 30th of July.
Swimming South Africa kicks off the 2023 swimming season with a successful meet in Mpumalanga
The pandemic could be taking a new toll this time on water safety. As the number of drownings continues to rise, experts are blaming the mass cancellation of swim classes during COVID. Already this summer the drowning toll has reached 30 with fears it’s going to keep rising.
At 13 years old, Andrea is the youngest member of Team GB’s artistic swimming squad.
Up until a few years ago, the sport used to be called synchronized swimming and it involves ballet and gymnastic movement, all while holding your breath under the water.
She says one day she’d like to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal.
She also wants to inspire more children to take up the sport because she says it is really fun!
New data from Royal Life Saving Statistics has revealed children missed up to 10 million swimming lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts warn it could have a generational impact if children do not catch up on lessons.
A desperate search is entering its second night after a 20-year-old man disappeared beneath the surf at Gunnamatta beach on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne’s north.
The nine and 10-year-old boys who survived the horror mid-air helicopter crash on the Gold Coast, which claimed four lives, remain in serious conditions today at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. In other news, a desperate search is underway for a young man missing in the waters off Mornington Peninsula’s dangerous Gunnamatta Beach near Melbourne.
Young boys remain in serious condition, search underway for missing swimmer | 9 News Australia
