World Junior Swimming Championships to be in Dubai

Dubai is generally fairly quiet in August but that will not be the case this year as a record 905 athletes and 362 officials representing 93 nations will arrive to compete in the biggest ever World Junior Swimming Championships. With entry numbers now finalised, this 4th edition of the event, which will be held at the Hamdan Sports Complex from 26-31 August, is set to be almost double the size of previous events, which have been held in Brazil (2006), Mexico (2008) and Peru (2011). For an emerging nation in terms of international success in the pool, Dubai has certainly become a world leader out of the pool. Remarkably this is the eighth major aquatics event held in the Emirate in just under three years, and is another important step in the development of swimming and aquatic sports in the region. The construction in 2010 of the state-of-the-art Hamdan Sports Complex has been the catalyst for the positioning of Dubai as a sporting destination of choice, and with the support of the aquatics international governing body FINA, and a proactive strategy by the Dubai Sports Council and UAE Swimming Federation, a long term and sustainable legacy program has been implemented to ensure these events also deliver community benefits by driving growth in participation numbers in aquatic sports. The last three years having seen outstanding growth in swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo as each major event showcases the best athletes in the world, inspiring local children to take up the sport, while providing great entertainment for sports fans. Source: WAM