Swimming-Australia to set up professional league in 2022

Swimming power Australia will launch a "made for broadcast" professional league in 2022 as it looks to generate more revenue from the country's elite programme, the sport's national federation said on Monday.

Swimming power Australia will launch a "made for broadcast" professional league in 2022 as it looks to generate more revenue from the country's elite programme, the sport's national federation said on Monday. The first edition of the Australian Swimming League (ASL) will start in Q4 of 2022 and will feature a club-based competition under a license model, Swimming Australia (SA) said.

"For generations, Australian swimmers have been some of the best in the world and are household names both at home and abroad," SA CEO Alex Baumann said in a media release. "Outside of major international events, it is important for Swimming Australia to create a high-profile domestic platform to showcase our current and future stars which also supports our vision of delivering greater opportunities for Australia's leading athletes."

Teams competing for prize money will be split evenly between male and female athletes, and an annual draft set up to spread talent across the league, SA said. The ASL will add another professional swimming competition to the calendar following the establishment of the team-based International Swimming League in 2019.

Australia boasts a number of leading swimmers including women's 400 metres freestyle world champion Ariarne Titmus and Kyle Chalmers, who will be defending his Olympic 100 metres freestyle title at the Tokyo Games.

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