Finswimming is the progression of a swimmer using monofins or normal swimfins (called bifins or stereofins within the sport) either on the water surface or underwater, using only muscle strength. It is a discipline of underwater sports. The competition distances are same as for swimming (50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1500 m, 4x100 m and 4x200 m relays). Continental and World Championships are organized by CMAS.

Finswimming History

There has been a lot written about the first finswimming championships and the origins of fins ^[3]. There were competitions held in France in the early 1920s, Italy in the 1930s and 1940s and in the United Kingdom in the 1950s.

World and Continental Championships are organised under CMAS rules and regulations. The European Championships have run since 1967 (held in Italy). World Championships have been held since 1976 (held in Germany). The World Championships are held every two years (on every odd year) and Continental Championships held in the intervening years. There have been twenty one European Championships. The Asian Finswimming Championships have been held 10 times, having started in 1989, the last being held in 2007 (in Hong Kong). There have been three Pan-American Championships, starting in 1993, with the last being held in 2001 (in Cali, Colombia). There have also been five "Arab Zone" Championships, the last was held in 2003 (in Beirut, Lebanon). Recently, CMAS has amalgamated all of the World Championships for the sports that it governs into one event, the World Underwater Games. The First World Underwater Games were held in 2007 in Bari, Italy. Most of the results for these Championships can be found on the CMAS website [1].

The sport is also one of those included in the World Games, South East Asia Games and in several multi-sport and military international events. Since 1988 (San Francisco, California, USA), the sport had been included in the World Corporate Games but has not been included since the 1992 Games in London, United Kingdom. Sadly, little is available on the Games, other than a short "history list" on the Australian Corporate Games website [2] and a brief mention on the Underwater Society of America website

 What is Monofin Swimming?

 Monofin swimming is swimming with an aid of a single-bladed swim fin. This was introduced in the 1972 Finswimming Championships in Moscow. The monofin resembles a dolphin tail which is capable of propelling swimmers up to 12 kph.