MAYOR DREW DILKENS ANNOUNCES WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES COMING TO WINDSOR, ONTARIO

Mayor Drew Dilkens, Chair of the 13th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), announced that 172 countries have confirmed their interest in participating in this year’s World Championships in Windsor.

September 1st was the international deadline for preliminary entries. The impressive list of countries from all over the globe is attached. Countries are still required to submit a full list of athletes by the end of October.

“We always knew that there would be a great response to this event.” said Mayor Drew Dilkens. Seeing the list of countries in print, and knowing 172 countries will be sending athletes to Windsor elevates the excitement. We are confident this will be the best in the event’s history.” The competition will be held in a temporary pool at the WFCU Centre on the same ice pad where the Spits play. The Windsor International Aquatic and Training Centre will be used for training, and the new pool at the arena will serve as the warm-up pool before competition.

The expected athletes are the best in the world. The stars of Rio … right here in Windsor.

With the interest in swimming on the heels of Team Canada’s success in Rio, tickets are expected to sell out. Windsor-Essex residents are encouraged to buy their tickets early.

In support of local medalist Kylie Masse, a 20% discount on tickets is available to Windsor-Essex by using the promo code ‘Windsorworlds’. This offer ends September 17th.

For those wishing to volunteer, the application deadline is September 22nd. For more information, please visit www.finawindsor2016.com.

172 Participating Countries include:

Albania • Algeria • Andorra • Angola • Antigua and Barbuda • Argentina • Armenia • Aruba • American Samoa • Australia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Bahamas • Bangladesh • Barbados •Burundi • Belgium • Benin • Bermuda • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Belarus • Bolivia • Botswana • Brazil • Bahrain • Brunei Darussalam • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Central African Republic • Cambodia • Canada •Cayman Islands • Chile • China • Cote d’Ivoire • Cook Islands • Colombia • Comoros • Costa Rica • Croatia • Cuba • Curacao • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • El Salvador • Spain • Estonia • Ethiopia • Faroe Islands • Fiji • Finland • France • Federated States of Micronesia • Gambia • Great Britain • Georgia • Germany • Ghana • Gibraltar • Greece • Grenada • Guatemala • Guinea • Guam • Guyana • Haiti • Hong Kong • Honduras • Hungary • India • Islamic Republic of Iran • Ireland • Iraq • Iceland • Virgin Islands, US • Italy •British Virgin Islands • Jamaica • Jordan • Japan • Kazakhstan • Kenya • Kyrgyzstan • Korea • Kosovo • Saudi Arabia • Lao People’s Democratic Republic • Latvia • Libya • Saint Lucia • Lesotho • Lebanon • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Macau • Madagascar • Morocco • Malawi • Moldova • Maldives • Mexico • Mongolia • Marshall Islands • The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia • Mali • Malta • Mozambique • Mauritius • Namibia • Nicaragua • Netherlands • Nepal • Nigeria • Niger • Northern Marian • Islands • Norway • New Zealand • Oman • Pakistan • Panama • Paraguay • Peru • Palestine • Palau • Papa New Guinea • Poland • Portugal • Democratic People’s Republic of Korea • Puerto Rico • Qatar • Romania • South Africa • Russia • Rwanda • Samoa • Senegal • Seychelles • Singapore • Sierra Leone • Slovenia • Serbia • Sri Lanka • Sudan • Switzerland • Suriname • Sweden • Swaziland • Syrian Arab Republic • Tanzania • Tonga • Thailand • Tajikistan • Togo •Chinese Taipei • Trinidad and Tobago • Turkey • United Arab Emirates • Uganda • Ukraine • Uruguay • United States of America • Uzbekistan • Venezuela • Vietnam • St. Vincent and Grenadines • Yemen • Zambia • Zimbabwe