2004 FINA Masters Championships

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:38:19 GMT

Like Maryyyy said, the open pool is fast. My team test it last year for Italian UISP Championship!!!!

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:10:57 GMT

Latest News From Italy: I spoke with the Prez of my team yesterday evening over pizza and asked him what I can tell you all about the Stadio del Nuoto, the facilities where the Championships will be held (he's there today for another inspection)... - The NEW 50 meter 10 lane INDOOR pool (which is still empty, that is, no water in it) will be opened with an inauguration ceremony on May 9th. It WILL be open for us in June - this is sure. It will be a beautiful structure, built according to all the modern technology, so it should be fast. But as we all know with these things, you don't really know until you try it, sort of like an opera house and its accoustics... - The rest of the facilities, 50m and 25m outdoor pool and 25m indoor pool, and surrounding park (as described in on the FINA site) are tried and true. He assures me that it is an really nice facility, and we'll all fit in very comfortably. There will be one 25m pool constantly available for warm-up... - The races will take place in both the indoor and outdoor 50m pools, with men's and women's races alternating pools daily. Therefore, for the moment it's not possible to know which race you'll be doing indoor or outdoor. In the end he said "Hey, tell them - we're going to have FUN!" So, come on down - the water's fine!! Mary Florence, Italy

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Tue, 13 Apr 2004 08:27:25 GMT

Greating from a Master swimmmer and coach in Milan, friend of Maryyy The Pool is going to test in May with Italian Police Championship or same!!!! The open pool is old but the close one is new See you soon (like Maryyyyy I try to visit often this topic!)

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 07:23:11 GMT

Greetings from a Masters Swimmer in Florence Italy (Mary Lokken, originally from Berkeley, California)! It's great to see you all chatting about the upcoming World Championships... I wish I'd seen this post before! I would have dived in with some info for you, whatever I have... First of all, may I say that all of the Italian Masters are really excited about the meet - and waiting for you with open arms! We're a great bunch of old swimmers (more than 10,000 now on the peninsula). Our forum is at Quelli che il Nuoto which means "Those Who Swim"... I'll put a post there right after this to tell them all to hop over to this forum and take a look! Some of your questions: QTs - we're as perplexed as you all are. We're all trying hard as we can for times, and at meets results are posted with TL for "tempo limite" which means we're qualified. However, it's true that no official proof is necessary. If you don't make the time at the meet, you'll just get a "NT" result. Italian Meet Organization - For those of you who have little faith in Italian organization, I've been to a lot of meets here, and have to say so far, GREAT! So, keep your fingers crossed. Registration - We're having the same problems as you! Anyway, each team is just sending off all the docs + $ to the FIN office in Rome. Accomodations - If you haven't gotten that arranged yet, I'd hurry! There's a link on the official FINA site which I think is quite good. The Pool - The President of my team Nuoto Club Firenze is on the LEN (European Swimming League) Committee, and went to Riccione to inspect the complex specifically for this event. My understanding was that the olympic pool we'll be using is NEW, and therefore has not been tried for a meet.... ie: we don't know if it's a fast pool or not. But what the heck! We're there for the fun! I'll check this post more often from now on to see if there are any new questions I can help with. I'll be in Riccione almost the whole time (50 + 100 free, 50 + 100 back, 50 fly and 3KM in the sea!) so I hope to meet some of you! Cheers! Mary Lokken Florence Italy

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Tue, 09 Mar 2004 17:58:05 GMT

Edward, I think I can shed a little light on the QT's. It is not so much that the 04 QT's are fast; it is more a case of the 02 QT's were slow. Recall that the 02 Championships were in New Zealand. Because traveling to the meet was going to be much more of a limiting factor then than it is now to travel to Italy, there was less need to use QT's to keep the size of the meet down. I swapped emails with the New Zealand meet director at the time, and they were not terribly enthusiastic about having any QT's at all. Increasing the number of the participants was a bigger concern for them. So apperantly they got FINA to buy-off on QT's that were not much of a factor (and they still got hit with the post-Sept 11th drop off in travel). If you want to compare apples to apples, take a look at the 00 Munich QT's. I think you will find the 04 QT's are only a bit faster. If you can't find them on the web, I wrote down the QT's for my age group and events, so you can at least compare the free and fly events for Mens 35-39. BTW, congratulations on making the cut! Excellent work, and always gratifying when you are close. If you want to impress your friends and neighbors, just tell them you qualified for Masters World Championships, and watch their eyes get big. Even though we know what that really means, it sure sounds like the Olympics to them. Matt

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

drip'nwet — Tue, 09 Mar 2004 09:09:12 GMT

I have been trying to enter on-line, but after I enter my events, I get an error message in written in French!! So, I did e-mail the entries chairperson only to be told they do not have an error page written in French. Oh well, I then went to wire my entry fee over and my bank - told me I owed $93,745.00!! I told them that perhaps the decimal point is off and that $93.74 made more sense. The bank wanted me to call over to Italy to confirm the difference. I went to a bigger bank and also had to open an account in order for the money to be wired. I guess I will have to mail my entry because I can not get passed the French error message!! This has been an adventure!!

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Tue, 09 Mar 2004 06:21:25 GMT

Originally posted by Matt S Edward, I think I can shed a little light on the QT's. It is not so much that the 04 QT's are fast; it is more a case of the 02 QT's were slow. If you want to compare apples to apples, take a look at the 00 Munich QT's. .. BTW, congratulations on making the cut! Excellent work, and always gratifying when you are close. If you want to impress your friends and neighbors, just tell them you qualified for Masters World Championships, and watch their eyes get big. Even though we know what that really means, it sure sounds like the Olympics to them. Matt Actually, that's what I thought, but wanted to make sure. My mother did think I was going to the Olympics this summer when I told her I wanted to swim in Italy. :D Actually now that I think about it it is my Olympics! I have worked hard, and now that I have paid will have to work harder to make sure I keep my times. For anyone else, I have just gotten through, was able to do all the registration and pay by credit card with no problems. I will still have to send in my paperwork I guess, my proof of age and copy of USMS card.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 11:06:56 GMT

Regarding accomodations, I ended up finding an apartment rental service in Riccione, who was able to secure me a two bedroom, two bath apartment within one km of the pool for ~610 Euro for the 10 days. We're going to be there for the full time, using Riccione as a home base and then taking day trips on days we aren't swimming. I don't have prior experience with the rental agency, but I have been pleased with their assistance and communication thus far. If anyone is interested in going the apartment-rental route, I used the Perazzini travel agency at www.perazzini.it/default_en.asp. Incidentally, I found them and other helpful information about the area at the local tourism board's web site, which is at www.turismo.provincia.rimini.it/.../. One other thing to chime in on is on wiring the money, vs. using a credit card. It looks like the organizers want the entry fee wired to them, and let me tell you, it is a bit of a pain (I had to look into wiring money overseas in order to pay the deposit on the apartment rental). Basically, you need to have a large bank do it for you -- my regular 'bank' is a credit union and they weren't up to the task. And, the fee is somewhere in the $25-$30 neighborhood to send an overseas wire. I ended up setting up a new bank account just to get this done. P.S. The "we" that will be travelling to Italy is me, a non-swimmer, and my 85 year old grandfather, who is the swimmer. I'm his personal valet for the journey, if you will. He totally kicks butt, and is looking forward to his first international swimming competition.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

MPohlmann — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 08:55:49 GMT

Looks like it is finally possible to enter the 2004 FINA Masters Championships online and use a credit card. You need to have a jpg photo to attach. Go to: www.masters2004.it/entries.asp Too bad I already went to the trouble of obtaining a bank draft in Euros. Mary

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 08:10:31 GMT

Does anyone know why they dropped the times so much? I was looking at the times from 02 and saw the 400 IM was 6:35, the 200 *** was 3:20, the 400 free was 5:50, the 200 IM 3:05. I would have qualified for all of them at my current times, but they droped them all 20 seconds plus. On the plus side, I have now qualified for three events, the 400 IM, 200 and 400 free, all within 0:0.06 this past weekend. I will be sending in my forms soon. I just think it's strange to drop that much time for all these events. There didn't seem to be that many people there. I do not know where I will be staying, but I will be ariving by motorcycle as I am flying into London 10 days before then. We should get together. Oh has anyone seen a way to pay by credit carrd? I would think that would be the easiest way.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Betsy — Mon, 08 Mar 2004 04:16:30 GMT

About arrangements. I plan to be in Riccione for 5 nights and then travel with my family for a total of 14 days in Italy. I started out making my own arrangements, but went to AAA to check air fares. They were able to get a much lower fare than I could find on the internet. I ended up booking everything through AAA except the hotel in Riccione. I booked Riccione throught the Italian travel agency. They confirmed everything by email and I was able to go to the hotel's website to get an idea of what it is like. Actually, before booking any of my hotels, I was able to see each hotel on the internet. I've had a great time reading and planning this trip. Betsy Durrant

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 09:12:07 GMT

Is anyone successfully working on travel plans to go to Riccione this June? It would seem from earlier posts on this thread and elsewhere that there are two main avenues to coordinate travel: 1) US-based travel agent Ann Lamberson at www.pvtapi.com There was a page on that web site as recently as last week which described the package they are working on for the trip, but today when I looked there was no mention of the FINA Masters meet there. 2) Booking directly with the local organizing committee at www.masters2004.it/accomodation.asp This seems to be a way to book your rooms once in Riccione. Was wondering if anyone out there was successfully humming along on making travel arrangements, and if so, any advice? Thanks.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Wed, 29 Oct 2003 15:34:49 GMT

thanx ,Mary Once I happened to look under the heading >Nationals> in the Discussion Forums I found the qualifying times with no trouble at all. I did notice that some of them are faster than the Munich times, but I can still make all of the freestyle and IM times. See you in Riccione if not before.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

MPohlmann — Sun, 26 Oct 2003 10:42:16 GMT

Several folks have said they either can't find or have difficulty with downloading the FINA Masters Championship Qualifying Times. Therefore, I will attempt to attach the PDF file. But the most direct link to the Qualifying times is Qualifying Times for Riccione

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Wed, 08 Oct 2003 11:25:38 GMT

I like these standards also. I don't have ANY for our Nationals, but have one and close to another on this. Of course I have only swum once in LC and I cannot go to Italy!! Guess I will have to keep working on Indy!

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

MPohlmann — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 06:22:25 GMT

If you are interested in booking your FINA Masters Championship arrangements with Ponte Vedra travel, they are again offering a 10% Early Booking Discount before their brochure is printed. The deposit is $250 and is fully refundable until February 15, 2004. Go to their website Ponte Vedra Travel I am not affiliated with Ponte Vedra, but I have used their services for New Zealand and Montreal. I gave them a deposit for Munich and it was cheerfully refunded when I decided to make my own arrangements. They really know how to take care of Masters swimmers.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Wed, 17 Sep 2003 15:13:42 GMT

Opps seems I made a bit of a mistake. My friend swam at the European Masters this past summer and I assumed that because it was in Italy next year it was again the European Masters. However the questions still stand I just wanted to make sure I don't look like too much of an idiot. ;)

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Former Member — Wed, 17 Sep 2003 15:02:17 GMT

So how do I fill out my heat sheet then if I am close to the times? Do I just fill out the sheet with wrong times and hope I make them? I am close on a number of times. Also are these times in LC or SCM? As for the NT if you do not swim them, I had a friend who swam in this year's Masters in France. He made all his times but I did see other times that were slower then the qualifing times and they were listed with out a DQ next to them. This meet might fit the bill for me pretty good as the time frame is good when I wanted to come to Europe for a vacation anyway.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

WaterRat — Wed, 17 Sep 2003 11:45:46 GMT

Times are for LCM. If you are close to the qualifying times you could fudge the numbers to make the time. However, I would suggest instead using it as a motivator during your training to make the qualifying times and thus prepare you for the meet. I would assume that the European championships were run under different rules than the World championships and that is why you don’t see the NTs.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

MPohlmann — Sat, 30 Aug 2003 11:44:31 GMT

While I don't think that there is an "Official" travel agent for the FINA Masters World Championships, Ann Lamberson of PONTE VEDRA TRAVEL 110 Solana Road, Suite 106 Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 800-833-7946 has handled the travel plans for USMS swimmers to most of the FINA Masters World Championships and is working on plans for Riccione, Italy. I am not affilitated with Ponte Vedra Travel, but my husband and I used Ann Lamberson's services for our trip to the last FINA Masters World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. We were very pleased and will probably go with Ponte Vedra again for Riccione, Italy. BTW, World Games is a different championships altogether. It includes many other sports besides swimming. FINA Masters World Championships includes only aquatic sports (swimming, synchronized swimming, diving, water polo and open water swimming).

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

drip'nwet — Fri, 29 Aug 2003 12:07:51 GMT

Does anybody know if there is an official travel agent for the World Games?

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

NKMD — Thu, 28 Aug 2003 11:39:49 GMT

What is the maximum number of events that each swimmer is allowed to swim?

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Walt Reid — Thu, 28 Aug 2003 11:32:58 GMT

You do not have to "Prove" that you have done times that qualify you for entering an event. Just like USMS Nationals. You can use converted times. If, when swimming the event in Riccione you are slower than the time standard, then you will receive a NT (no time) and will not place. It is just like a DQ.

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

Walt Reid — Thu, 28 Aug 2003 10:43:42 GMT

The Meet Schedule for the FINA Masters World Championships in Riccione is now posted at the FINA Web site. You can find it by clicking on MASTERS listed on the left side of the screen Then RICCIONE 2004 Then "For more information go to" in the middle of the screen Then select Schedule and GO This is also where you can find the Qualifying Time Standards Same location as the Qualifying Times. (see my message above)

RE: 2004 FINA Masters Championships

WaterRat — Thu, 28 Aug 2003 04:37:26 GMT

Originally posted by kerees Does anyone know if converted times are allowed from SCM or Yards? I thought I would be okay in a few events, but it turns out I am not....I probably would have swam them at Nationals if I thought I'd get bumped out. Karla Karla, If I recall correctly, in 2000 when I was looking into the meet at Christchurch, converted times were accepted and no proof of times were required. The only issue was that if you did not swim a qualifying time at the meet your time was not posted and you would get a NT next to your name. Can anyone else confirm?