FINA BL 9.3.6
Qualification for the 2012 London Olympic Games
How Athletes Qualify for London 2012
• IOC has established a quota for each sport for the 2012 Olympic Games. For swimming, that number is 900.
• Past three Olympic Games have had 975‐980 athletes.
• Challenge – how does FINA guarantee to the IOC that the number truly is 900?
London 2012
• Two sets of time standards will exist.• “A” and “B” terminology will no longer exist.• There will be “Olympic Qualifying Times” (OQTs) and “FINA/Olympic Invitation Times” (FOITs).
• Olympic Qualifying Times will be more difficult and will be the equivalent of what was formerly known as the “A” standards.
• For any and all times to be considered, they must be done in FINA‐approved competitions.
London 2012• For a country to automatically qualify two athletes in an individual event,
both athletes must have times equal to or faster than the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT).
• For a country to qualify one athlete in an individual event, that athlete must have done the following:
– Have swum a time equal to or faster than the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT).
OR
– Have swum a time that is equal to or faster than the FINA/Olympic Invitation Time and receive an official invitation from FINA to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games.
– Note: Simply making the FINA/Olympic Invitation Time does NOT qualify an athlete for the Olympic Games. He/she must be formally invited by FINA. This is a change from past Olympic Games.
London 2012
• Countries that have athletes with neither an Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) or a FINA/Olympic Invitation Time (FOIT) will still be permitted to send one male and one female athlete to the Games (Universality).
• By inviting those athletes with FOITs, FINA can more easily control the quota of 900 swimmers for the Olympic Games.
London 2012
• The qualification period for recording times from FINA‐approved competitions will begin on 1 March 2011. All rankings will be on www.fina.org.
• The qualification period will close on the following dates:– For recording Olympic Qualifying Times: 3 July 2012.– For recording FOITs: 1 June 2012.– For Universality athletes: 1 June 2012.
London 2012• Once all entries are submitted, FINA will go through and
determine how many athletes have qualified through Olympic Qualifying Times, Universality and from relays.
• That number will then be subtracted from 900.• The remaining athletes will be added to the meet from the
list of those athletes who have a FINA/Olympic Invitation Time.
• Athletes with a FOIT will be ranked and invited according to their score from the FINA Points Table (using the FINA Points Table from 1 January 2012).
• Athletes with the highest point scores will be invited first, until the number of athletes in the Olympics reaches 900.
• Invitation letters from FINA will go out shortly after 1 June.
London 2012Schedule of Notification
• 1 June 2012 – Qualification period ends for athletes with FINA/Olympic Invitation Times and countries sending athletes through Universality.
• 2‐4 June 2012 – All athletes with FINA/Olympic Invitation Times are ranked according to FINA Points Table (from highest to lowest).
• 5 June 2012 (or as soon as possible) – FINA sends official invitation letters electronically to all Member Federations with athletes with FINA/Olympic Invitation Times who have qualified for the Olympic Games.
• 12 June 2012 (or as soon as possible) ‐ All Member Federations must indicate if the invited athletes will attend the 2012 Olympic Games.
London 2012Key Facts
• Athletes who have performed a FINA/Olympic Invitation Time will not know if they are invited to the 2012 Olympic Games until after 1 June 2012.
• Federations with athletes with Olympic Qualifying Times (1 or 2 in each event), qualified relays or through Universality will automatically be accepted into the 2012 Olympic Games.