In a world first, athletes will be competing for cash at the 12th FINA World Championships in Melbourne next March.

A Prize Money pool of two million dollars (US) will be distributed across the five aquatic disciplines of Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo and Synchronised Swimming.

The International Federation of the Championships, FINA, met in Madrid last week and decided that all the medallists in the FINA World Championships will receive Prize Money for their performances. World Record’s will also be rewarded with US$25,000.

The distribution of the Prize Money will be as follows:

SWIMMING: 1st place US$ 12,000; 2nd place US$ 7,000; 3rd place US$ 5,000

DIVING (individual and synchro): 1st place US$ 12,000; 2nd place US$ 7,000; 3rd place US$ 5,000

WATER POLO: 1st place US$ 60,000; 2nd place US$ 40,000; 3rd place US$ 30,000

SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING (solo and duet): 1st place US$ 12,000; 2nd place US$ 7,000; 3rd place US$ 5,000

SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING (Teams & Free Combination events): 1st place US$ 30,000; 2nd place US$ 25,000; 3rd place US$ 20,000

Tickets for the 12th FINA World Championships are on sale from 9am on Monday, October 16th. Tickets can be purchased via the Ticketek website (ticketek.com.au), a dedicated phone line (1300 136 494) and Ticketek retail outlets.

Melbourne 2007