The Games of the Small States of Europe and the Fukuoka World Championships, the FAN’s major goals in 2023

Escaldes-Engordany, 20th December 2022.

This morning the Andorran Swimming Federation (FAN) presented the objectives it has set itself for the 2023 season in Andbank’s Manel Cerqueda Hall. In sporting terms, there are two very clear aims, as Alfonso Maltrana, the FAN’s technical director, explained. These are the Games of the Small States of Europe to be held in the last week of May and the first week of June in Malta and the World Swimming Championships that will take place in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in the second half of July. “It’s clear that these are the two biggest events of the year and we want to perform well, especially in the Games,” stated Maltrana.

As for the preparations for the two events, the technical director explained that “we are working with a group of eight swimmers for the Games, including some juniors. As long as they have the right level, it’s important for them to be able to come and gain experience.” Nevertheless, “this group is bound to be reduced in size once the entry standards proposed by the International Olympic Committee are announced.” Despite placing his trust in these youngsters, Maltrana was quick to declare that “our spearhead for these championships will be the senior swimmers that everyone knows already.” The situation for the World Championships will similarly be influenced by the minimum standards indicated by World Aquatics.

As for the work with the grassroots, the technical director spoke of two basic lines of cooperation with schools and swimming clubs. In the former case, he urged “all children to learn to swim properly,” which is why all the help that is required will be provided for the work carried out during physical education classes. According to Maltrana, “swimming properly is important, as they’ll be able to swim for fun or more competitively later on.” With regard to the clubs, he explained that “with the juniors we’ll endeavour to complement the training, particularly during the weeks of the school holidays, a plan that we’ll extend to the younger children,” although he emphasised that, in the case of the latter, there may be occasions when the entire training is delivered under the supervision of the FAN.

Agreements with France and Portugal

Training was another key aspect covered during the presentation. The president of the FAN has decided to increase the number of offers for coaches at the existing levels in 2023 so as to take on technical experts from the country. “It’s very important for there to be people in the country who want to train and for us to give them the opportunity to do so,” he stated. He also explained that the Federation has made a considerable effort to recruit Pablo Prieto, an assistant for Maltrana, and Andrea Rodríguez, an artistic swimming instructor, who it will share with the two clubs in the country in order to continue promoting this discipline.

Natàlia Meca, the FAN’s technical director of artistic swimming, indicated that “2023 will be a year in which we’ll focus on applying all the regulatory changes made by FINA and adapting to them.” Meca also pointed out that the Federation will continue striving