Programme fixed for Asian Swimming

The Executive Committee of the 9th Asian Swimming Championships 2012 in Dubai has firmed up the programme for the competition to be held later this year. As per the schedule, the executive board chaired by Dr Ahmad Saad Al Sharif, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the 9th Asian Swimming Championships will be held at the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Sports Complex from November 15-25. The meeting decided that the competition will start with swimming from November 15-18 followed by synchronised swimming, also from November 15-18. After that, the water polo event will take place from November 19-25, with finally diving competition being held from November 22-25. The first meeting of the executive committee was held in the presence of Ahmad Abdullah Al Falasi, President of the UAE Swimming Association and Deputy Chairman of the organising committee, along with other members including Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Ahmad Al Rahoumi, Hessa Al Kous, Saeed Al Hamour, Abdullah Shahdad, Abdullah Mubarak Al Zahmi, Kyriacos Ginapoulos and Shams Al Maarif Bakhit.The meeting tackled several organisational matters with respect to the championships, which are held every three years. Invitations have been sent to all 43 national associations in Asia which come under the purview of the Asia Swimming Federation (AASF). The championships were last held in Foshan, China, in November 2009. The meeting, held at the DSC headquarters, also dealt with several other details of the competition including the official website; the opening and closing ceremonies; the appointment of a medical committee; doping control; allocation of places for delegations and sponsors; marketing and media campaigns leading up to the competition; and qualifying sessions and workshops on the sidelines of the championship. “In Dubai we have a tendency of doing things as per a certain standard, and this championship will be no different,” stressed Dr Al Sharif. “This is the first time ever that such a multi-competition is being held in Dubai, and we are committed to staging yet another impeccable event,” he added. Meanwhile, Shaikh Khalid Al Sabah, President, AASF, has called upon all national federations to lend their support to the event by confirming their participation for the championships. from gulfnews.com