Masters swimming
Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming for swimmers 25 years and older. Premasters is normally included as well, from 18 years old or 20 years old.
In Canada ten thousand swimmers in more than 250 clubs are organized within the organization. In the United States around sixty thousand masters swimmers are being supported by U.S. Masters Swimming in more than 1,500 masters swimming clubs or workout groups.
Rules
The rules and distances are nearly the same as for senior swimming. However, "breaststroke kicking movement is permitted for butterfly," and meet programs include mixed relay events. The latter one is now copied by seniors.Age categories
Individual swimmers compete within age groups of five years, determined by the swimmer's age on 31 December current year.The age groups are: A:25–29, B:30–34, C:35–39, D:40–44; E:45–49; F:50–54, G:55–59; H:60–64, I:65–69, J:70–74; K:75–79; L:80–84, M:85–89, N:90–94, P:95–99, Q:100–104, R:105–109 and so on at 5-year increments as necessary. In 2014 Jaring Timmermann from Canada, at the age of 105, did set a world record as the oldest, but he died the same year.
For Masters relay events, the age groups are determined by the combined age of the team participants in 40 years increments. This allows swimmers of very different ages to compete together in a team, as long as each swimmer is Masters. Combined age: A:100–119, B:120–159, C:160–199, D:200–239, E:240–279, F:280–319, G:320–359 and so on if ever necessary.
Description
Masters swimming is a fast-growing leisure activity, particularly in North America and Australia but also in Europe. Most towns or cities now have masters clubs. Typically these are very friendly and welcome newcomers. The minimum requirements to join a masters club vary widely, anywhere from the ability to swim one length of the pool to the ability to swim a kilometre without stopping. Club members will follow a set of different drills and swims each time typically covering anything from 1.5 km to 3.5 km per one-hour session. Each club will have lanes and so whilst the younger and faster swimmers who are competing nationally and regionally are at one end, the other lanes are for hobbyists who may have taken up swimming quite recently.U.S. Masters Swimming is the governing body of masters swimming in the United States, sponsoring competition at all levels. In addition, it sponsors programs for non-competitive "fitness" swimmers who train primarily for the health benefits that the activity offers to the aging athlete.
is the governing body of masters swimming in Canada, listing swim clubs, competitions and provincial master swim associations.
FINA World Masters Championships
organizes the FINA World Masters Championships since 1986, but 2 editions were held in the pre-FINA era:- 1978 – Toronto, CAN
- 1984 – Christchurch, NZL
| Number | Year | Location | Dates |
| 1 | 1986 |  Tokyo, Japan | 12–16 July |
| 2 | 1988 |  Brisbane, Australia | 10–15 October |
| 3 | 1990 |  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6–13 August |
| 4 | 1992 |  Indianapolis, USA | 25 June – 5 July |
| 5 | 1994 |  Montreal, Canada | 4–10 July |
| 6 | 1996 |  Sheffield, Great Britain | 23 Juni – 3 July |
| 7 | 1998 |  Casablanca, Morocco | 19–30 June |
| 8 | 2000 |  Munich, Germany | 29 July – 4 August |
| 9 | 2002 |  Christchurch, New Zealand | 21 March – 3 April |
| 10 | 2004 |  Riccione, Italy | 1–13 June |
| 11 | 2006 | Stanford, USA | 4–17 August |
| 12 | 2008 | Perth, Australia | 18–25 April |
| 13 | 2010 |  Gothenburg and Borås, Sweden | 27 July – 7 August |
| 14 | 2012 | Riccione, Italy | 3–17 June |
| 15 | 2014 | Montreal, Canada | 27 July – 10 August |
| 16 | 2015 |  Kazan, Russia | 5–16 August |
| 17 | 2017 |  Budapest, Hungary | 7–20 August |
| 18 | 2019 |  Gwangju, South Korea | 5–18 August |
| 19 | 2021 | Fukuoka, Japan | August |
| 20 | 2023 |  Doha, Qatar |