By Sergey Yurlov, member of International Association of Sports Law (IASL), Master of Sports, Sport judge
Federation Internationale de Natation (hereafter — “FINA”) has been developing its internal legal regulations over the last few years. Those internal Rules and Regulations govern a wide range of issues arising out of aquatic sports.
The FINA has made a landmark decision[1], according to which males are no longer prohibited from participating in synchronized swimming events and would be allowed to participate in mixed (woman and man) duets as well as in mixed diving pairs on both the 3m and 10m springboard diving events. These changes will be effective from 2015.
Several national sports federations have commented on these rule changes. It should be noted that their positions on this issue are quite controversial. For example, a British national performance director, Alexei Evangulov, claimed that the FINA’s last decision regarding mix events was a great opportunity to widen their sport opportunities, to increase popularity, and to bring something new and fresh into the sport[2]. In the meantime, Russian sports minister, Vladimir Mutko, suggested that it was a mistake to include mixed events in 2015 World Championship program[3]. Mr.Mutko’s point of view is that synchronized swimming ought to be a woman’s sport only.
But what are the consequences of such a decision? Males will obtain the right to participate in synchronized swimming and diving (mixed duets). We know that males had faced legal restrictions on participation in synchronized swimming as a sport. Fortunately, this specific issue has been resolved according to FINA, but there are still many who feel that synchronized swimming ought to be a sport for women only. We believe that synchronized swimming remains primarily a women sport. In the meantime, some legal issues remain unresolved. We are of the view that the following issues should be further developed:
Issues relating to election procedure and eligibility
It appears that each athlete has the right to participate in the FINA events regardless of existence of a national sports federation. For example, if a national sports federation has been dissolved, an athlete should have the right to file an application (entry form) with an organizing committee directly. It is clear that the main principle and requirement is athletic performance (i.e., an athlete meets all the requirements prescribed in Rules and Regulations of a particular FINA event).
Issues relating to participation in the FINA events
According to the FINA regulations, only two athletes from each country are allowed to participate in semifinals and finals. It appears that such a restriction should be scrapped shortly. We are of the view that such a restriction contradicts the fourth principle of Olympism whereby “the practice of sport is a human right”[4].
Issues relating to dispute resolution procedure
The main problem is that the most competition Rules and Regulations establish a small timeframe for filing a protest (a reasoned protest needs to be filed within 15-30 minutes after the race has been finished). Actually, there is no opportunity to adduce appropriate evidence and prepare a written statement. It appears that the FINA should propose changes to its internal Rules and Regulations providing for at least a two to three hour protest filing timeframe.
Hence, the FINA should consider amending its internal Rules and Regulations with regard to individual participation and dispute resolution.
Issues relating to the Olympic Program
The FINA should also consider widening of the swimming Olympic Games Program. In other words, 50 metres butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke should be included in Olympic Games Program.
[1] See: http://www.fina.org/H2O/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4161&Itemid=184
[2] See: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/diving/30298816
[3] See: http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/plavanie/spbnews_NI500065_Mutko_nazval_oshibochnym_reshenije_vkluchit_smeshannyje_duety_v_programmu_ChM_2015_
[4] See: http://www.ruwediamant.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Olympic-Values.pdf
