The 2018 FINA World Series will feature 10 competitions across the world, starting in France at the beginning of March and ending in late June in Uzbekistan.
The 2018 series will include the meets listed below:
- March 9 – 11: Make Up For Ever French Open in Montreuil, France
- April 21 – 23: China Open, location to be confirmed
- April 27 – 30: Japan Open in Tokyo, Japan
- May 11 – 13: 4th MEC Cup & Championships of Slovakia in Šamorin, Slovakia
- May 18 – 20: Budapest Open in Budapest, Hungary
- May 25 – 27: Spanish Open, location to be confirmed
- May 30 – June 2: Canadian Open in Surrey, British Colombia, Canada
- June 7 – 9: Synchro America Open in La Mirada, Calif., USA
- June 15 – 17: Hellas Beetles Cup on the island of Syros, Greece
- June 28 – 30: Uzbekistan International Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
As noted, the exact locations of the China Open and Spanish Open have yet to be confirmed.
The 2018 series will feature the same meets as last year, such as the MUFE French Open, the Japan Open or the Synchro America Open, but will also include for the first time events in Slovakia, Hungary, and Greece. Similarly and just like in 2017, the schedule has been accommodated geographically, so teams traveling from far away can compete in two events (for example China Open / Japan Open, or Canadian Open / U.S. Open).
Most of the competitions are stacked up in May and June, which is different than last season where the series’ meets were more spread out. However, a great improvement is that the series will end in late June, thus a couple of weeks before two of the biggest international events of the season for many teams: the European Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, and the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In 2017, the last leg of the world series in Uzbekistan was a bit too late in the year and well after the FINA World Championships, which is what swimmers trained and peaked for. After worlds, the vast majority of them went on vacation, and the attendance at Suv Parisi was low. This should hopefully not be a problem this season.
As a refresher, Ona Carbonell from Spain won the 2017 series in the solo category, Ukraine in the duet and team categories, and Japan in the mixed duet category.