ISL PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Over 100 Olympians are represented in the ISL, including 41 Olympic gold medals from the 2016 Olympic Games.
The International Swim League (ISL) makes its first trip to Europe October 12th-13th with Naples, Italy playing host at the Piscina Felice Scandone. This event marks the league’s second competition after ISL race action gets started in Indianapolis, Ind., October 5th-6th. Tickets are on sale now starting as low as € 16.40.
Four teams will participate in the meet: the DC Trident, Cali Condors, the Rome-based Aqua Centurions, and Energy Standard. These teams represent half of the two-continent league that is split between the United States and Europe. After the inaugural six-meet regular season, the top-four teams will advance to the finals at the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Over 100 Olympians are represented in the ISL, including 41 Olympic gold medals from the 2016 Olympic Games. What sets the ISL apart is that swimmers will be paid both in salary and through prize money won based on their individual and team finishes. About $180,000 in prize money will be awarded at each regular season match, with nearly $1.5 million in prize money available for December’s championship meet in Las Vegas. Men and women will share equal prize money.
The innovative format for the opening season will see each club team bring a roster of up to 28 star swimmers (14 male, 14 female) that will compete to score points for their club. Match tallies will earn them rankings points toward the league table, with the top four clubs advancing to the grand final in Las Vegas in December.
The ISL will engage sports fans over each competition weekend with high-tempo two-hour matches. Experts in television, digital media and sports entertainment will provide a compelling backdrop for the swimmers with cutting-edge production and live show fan engagement.
Among the swimmers expected to compete in Naples include the world’s top male swimmer Caeleb Dressel (Cali Condors), who won six gold medals and set two world records at the 2019 World Championships. The meet will also feature the world’s top female swimmer in Katie Ledecky (DC Trident), who at just 22 years of age already owns five Olympic gold medals and three World Records.
The October 12-13 event includes 12 of Italy’s biggest swimming stars, all members of the Aqua Centurions. Matteo Rivolta, Santo Condorelli, Fabio Scozzoli, Luca Dotto, Nicolo Martinenghi, Alessandro Miressi, and Simone Sabbioni will be the men in action, while Federica Pellegrini, Elena Di Liddo, Silvia di Pietro, Margherita Panziera, and Ilaria Bianchi are the women.
Pellegrini, who is both an athlete and captain of the Aqua Centurions, is the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 200 freestyle, a six-time Long Course World Champion, and she currently holds the world record in the LC 200 free.
Other Headline Swimmers Expected to Race:
â— Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström (Energy Standard) is the fastest woman in water, currently the holder of six individual world records: tied for the most of any swimmer in the world (with Katinka Hosszu of Team Iron).
â— South African Chad Le Clos (Energy Standard) is the owner of four Olympic medals, including a 2012 gold in the 200 fly when he dethroned the legendary Michael Phelps, preventing him from winning a third straight title.
â— American Lilly King (Cali Condors) has been the most dominant female breaststroker in the world over the past three years, winning 2016 Olympic gold in the 100 breast, back-to-back World titles in both the 50 and 100, and is also the world record holder in both sprint distances.
Naples Meet Details:
â— Who: DC Trident, Cali Condors, Aqua Centurions and Energy Standard
â— What: First European meet of the brand new professional International Swimming League
â— Where: Piscina Felice Scandone
Viale Giochi del Mediterraneo, 80, 80125
Naples, Italy
â— When: Saturday, October 12th, 2019 @ 7:00PM & Sunday, October 13th, 2019 @ 7:00PM. Each Session is scheduled to run two hours.
See the complete 2019 ISL competition schedule here.
About the ISL: The International Swimming League is a global professional swimming competition launching in 2019 with teams in both Europe (Italy-based Aqua Centurions, France-based Energy Standard, Hungary-based Iron, and London Roar) and the United States (Cali Condors, DC Trident, LA Current, NY Breakers). The inaugural season will include matches in Indianapolis IN, Naples ITA, Lewisville TX, Budapest HUN, College Park MD, London GBR, and the championship finale at the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The ISL aims to create groundbreaking projects, in both form and content, exploring the full potential of competitive swimming while securing sustainable commercial growth in the sport.
ISL SOCIAL: Keep up with all of the latest ISL news by following @iswimleague on Instagram and Twitter and @internationalswimmingleague on Facebook.
Contact: James Mulligan (james.mulligan@isl.global)
International Swimming League Ltd
Alfred-Escher-Strasse 17, 8002 Zurich, Switzerland
1 October 2019
