The 17th FINA Masters World Championship has begun in Budapest
Yesterday, on the 7th of August 2017, the 17th FINA Masters World Championship kicked off at Budapest. Following the biggest Aquatics World Championship ever, spectators and fans can root for our favourite Olympics, Europe- and World Champions.
The Aquatics World Championship’s competition venues have been filled already at 8 o’clock yesterday with sportsmen and women and fans, as the 17th FINA Masters World Championship has begun – said Miklós Borsa, the spokesman of Bp2017 Nkft. The water polo games have started in Alfréd Hajós National Swimming Stadium, the synchronised swimming numbers’ venue is the Városliget, and the diving numbers are taking place at the Danube Arena.
Miklós Borsa’s briefing also revealed that competitors are arriving in great numbers at the Masters Championship. There are four times more competitors taking part in the numbers and games than in the elite championship: almost 10,000 sportsmen registered from 92 countries.
There are approximately 6500 masters swimmers, 540 synchronised swimmers, 1200 pelagian swimmers and 340 divers, and 120 water polo teams, which is the maximum number allowed of competing teams in this number.
The organisers are expecting a great number of spectators cheering at the venues, as there are no entrance fees to the games. For example, the tickets for the Millenium water polo team’s matches – some of which took place yesterday, and the rest taking place today – have run out just in a couple minutes already at the pre-registration. The reason for this is the great interest in the team which members are fan-favourite Olympic athletes.
Although the numbers have begun yesterday in the morning, the official opening ceremony of the masters championship took place only at 8:30 pm yesterday evening. The venue for the ceremony was the spectator zone at Margaret Island, the participation was free. The organisers have put up a special show to welcome the almost 10,000 competitors and fans. Among others, the ExperiDance group and the Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra performed.
Further good news for those interested in Hungary’s and the FINA’s biggest sports event is that yesterday the Budapest 2017 Masters app was launched, which is the official mobile application of the 17th FINA Masters World Championship. You can stay updated on the games, as there are news, programmes, interviews, videos and photos about the event available on the app. It is compatible with Windows, Android and iOS operating systems.
The spectator zones await fans with interesting and colourful programs during the championship. For example, yesterday before the opening ceremony the Millenium team’s match was screened at the spectator zone at Margaret Island. The Millenium team played with the Turkish team, where the previous won.
featured photo: www.fina.org
Source: FINA – press briefing