Artistic Swimming Australia (ASA) acknowledges FINA's decision to host a 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, as well as the earlier decision to move the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, to July 2023.

FINA has posted on their website to confirm that a World Championships will take place in 2022, with Budapest playing host to the meet, which will incorporate swimming, diving, marathon swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo.

We have yet to receive any official information or detail from FINA, limiting our ability to make plans. For example, the news date potentially clashes with the Australian National Championships, which potentially need to be moved as a result.

Reflecting on the latest announcement, ASA Performance Pathway Director Richard Vaughan said: "We acknowledge FINA's latest news on the confirmation of a 2022 World Championships in Budapest, and our coaches are now assessing the performance, logistical and financial implications of this announcement.

"We have remarked before on the outstanding resilience and agility our athletes and coaches have shown over the past two years, adapting to new and unexpected scenarios. However, we are also very mindful of the expectation and welfare challenges this now places on our athlete and staffing cohorts. We will be working with them to determine the best way forwards through this busy period.”

“The current Australian National Squad Trials will go ahead as planned, and selections will be made for the World Youth, World Junior, and World Budapest Championships on the 28th of February.

All stakeholders involved with the high-performance pathway system are invited to join the information session provided by the high-performance team on the Thursday 24th February, at 1800 (Brisbane time). Please join the link here.

Read more on the latest FINA announcement here.

Read below for information on the previous announcement, which confirmed the rescheduling of the Fukuoka and Doha World Championship events, and reaction from the date of that news (1st February 2022).

This update was published on 1st February 2022

The World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka meet was initially scheduled to take place from 13th-29th May 2022 following the movement of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games from 2020 to 2021.

However, FINA have confirmed that the Fukuoka World Championships will now take place from 14th-30th July 2023, "to ensure a safe and successful event for everyone involved." The 20th World Championships, due to be held in Doha, Qatar in November 2023, are now due to be held in January 2024.

The FINA statement continued: "FINA is in constant dialogue with athletes and coaches regarding the upcoming international aquatics competition calendar, with the goal of minimising the impact on athlete preparation and performance, while acknowledging the current health impacts of the Omicron COVID-19 variant."

Speaking of FINA's announcement, ASA Performance Pathway Director Richard Vaughan said: "We respect and support the decision to reschedule the World Championships in Fukuoka in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the continuing impacts and complications it brings to major international events.

"While major spectacles such as a World Aquatics Championships brings our brilliant sports to the fore and provides a priceless platform on which our athletes can shine, the health and wellbeing of everyone involved in and outside of our sports remains of paramount importance.

"At ASA, our athletes, coaches and staff have shown time and again over the past two years that they can be versatile and adaptable in difficult circumstances, and this is another moment where I am sure those qualities will come to the fore.

"While this is disappointing news, our athletes and coaches have shown incredible agility these past two years - and we have no doubt that they will adapt to these changes in a positive manner.”