Regulations

Age Categories

Age is determined as of December 31 of the year of competition In 2026, participants must be 20 years old. The average age of participants in a routine is determined by adding the ages of the actual swimmers divided by the number of swimmers (excluding reserves) and omitting the resulting fraction or decimal. For example, if a team’s average age is 49.833, they swim in the 35-49 age group.

Solo	(Mixed Duet)¹	Team¹³	Combi¹²³
20 – 24 years²
25 – 29 years		25 – 34 years	25 – 39 years
30 – 39 years		35 – 49 years	40 – 64 years
40 – 49 years		50 – 64 years	65 years and older
50 – 59 years		65 years and older
60 – 69 years
70 – 79 years
80 years and older

¹ Age determined by the average age of the participants.

² No Dutch National Synchro Masters Championships; only Fryslân Open Championships

³ Teams consist of a minimum of four (4) members and a maximum of eight (8) members (team). Combinations consist of a minimum of four (4) members and a maximum of ten (10) members (Combination).

Men can also participate. There is a “Mixed Duet” category and a “Men’s” category, regardless of the age of the participants. Men can also participate in teams and combos. Multi’s are also welcome.

Classifications

In the 20-24 age category and the Combination event, no Dutch National Synchro Masters Championship will be held. During these events, only the Fryslân Open Championship Competition will be held.
The Technical and Free Routine will be swum as separate events. A final ranking will be drawn up for both parts (Technical and Free Routine) for both the Fryslân Open Championship and the Dutch Masters Championship. A medal ceremony will also take place for both competitions (Technical and Free Routine).
For the Combination, only the Free Routine is swum.

Time limits

Timelimits for Routines	Technical Routine	Free Routine
Solo¹	< 2 minutes 00 seconds	< 2 minutes 15 seconds
Duet¹	< 2 minutes 20 seconds	< 2 minutes 45 seconds
Mixed Duet¹	< 2 minutes 20 seconds	< 2 minutes 45 seconds
Team¹	< 2 minutes 50 seconds	< 3 minutes 30 seconds
Combination¹	not applicable	< 3 minutes 30 seconds

¹ There is no minimum time. Time limits include ten (10) seconds for movements on the side. For all routines there is a permitted time excess of fifteen (15) seconds over the maximum time.

Regulatory provisions

Participants may swim the technical routine during the free routine. Participating in only one routine (technical or free routine) is permitted.
Reserves will receive a medal if their duet, team, or combination finishes in one of the podium positions (1 through 3) in the final standings. This applies to both the National Championship standings and the Fryslân Open standings.
The required elements for the technical routine follow the rules of World Aquatics:
worldaquatics.com/rules/competition-regulations

Additional provisions

In addition to the previous regulatory provisions:

The order of the elements is no longer mandatory and;
het is niet langer nodig om de elementen parallel aan de jury uit te voeren. Tijdens de definitieve inschrijving wordt u gevraagd om de volgorde van de technische elementen aan te geven.
The fouth element(TRAVELLING BALLET LEG COMBINATION)may be replaced by the element as defined in the European Aquatics rules: Flamingo – From a Back position, a Bent Knee Back position is assumed. The bent leg is extended into a Ballet Leg Position. The shin of the horizontal leg is pulled along the surface of the water to assume a Surface Flamingo Position. If you choose the TRAVELLING BALLET LEG COMBINATION as defined by the World Aquatics rules, please note that the two positions defined by the “old rules” are not sufficient. We expect you to start on a Back position, assume a Bent Knee Back position RIGHT and extend the bent leg into a Ballet Leg Position RIGHT. From this position, the leg is bent into a Bent Knee Back Position RIGHT. The toe moves until a Back Position is assumed. These movements are repeated with the LEFT leg.
In JOINED ACTION, mirror actions and actions where the swimmers are not synchronized are only permitted as long as the swimmers are connected. Once the connection is broken, the swimmers must swim simultaneously and in the same direction. Acrobatics are not permitted in JOINED ACTION.

Dress codes

During the technical routine, wearing a so-called “show” swimsuit, matching makeup and hair cap is permitted. There is therefore NÓ obligation to wear a black swimsuit and white swimming cap during the technical routine!

Music

Music must be supplied digitally during registration.
Music must be supplied in MP3 or MP4 format.
A separate file must be supplied for each routine. The file name must be supplied as follows: Category-Age category-Type of Rutine-Association-Name of Rutine.
Example of a Technical Routine Solo in the age category 40-49 would look like this:Solo-40_49-TU-HZPCHeerenveen-DancingQueen.mp4
Example of a Free Routine Team in the age category 30-39 would look like this:Ploeg-30_39-VU-HZPCHeerenveen-RazorLight.mp3
Music will be checked in advance by the organization and the results of this check will be fed back to the participating association by email.
Also deliver the music to the organization via USB stick before the start of each competition day. The file name configuration as described above also applies here. The USB stick may contain all Routines of the participating association. Clearly label the USB stick with the name of the participating association.
At the end of each competition day, each participating association is requested to collect the USB stick from the organization.

Entries

No limit on the number of solos, duos, teams, combos per category.
You can register for the Technical and/or the Free Routine separately.
Registration of reserves after the closing date of the final registration is not possible.
For optimized organization, one (1) judge per club is requested for clubs with ten (10) or less participants, two (2) judges are required for clubs with more than ten (10) participants. The costs you must pay if you participate without a jury (or only one jury member for more than ten (10) participants) are € 100.00. Judges participating in the Championships are allowed with the comment that:
- - In events where the juror is also registered as a participant, the participant cannot participate in this section as a juror.
  - The judge can judge a minimum of two parts (solo, duet, trio, team or combo) on both days

Financial terms

Expenses for travel and accommodation will be borne by the participating clubs and/or participants

Cost

	Technical OR Free execution	With reserve	Technical AND Free version	With reserve
Solo	€ 15,00	n.a.	€ 22,50	n.a.
Duet	€ 20,00	€ 10,00 per reserve (max 1 reserve)	€ 30,00	€ 15,00 per reserve (max 1 reserve)
Team	€ 10,00 per participant	€ 10,00 per reserve (max 2 reserves)	€ 15,00 per participant	€ 15,00 per reserve (max 2 reserves)
Combination¹	€ 12,50 per participant	€ 12,50 per reserve (max 2 reserves)	n.a.	n.a.

Registration

Preliminary registration: before Sunday, April 19, 2026
Final registration: before Sunday, May 31, 2026

Tentative schedule

Saturday, July 4, 2026: All technical routines and some free routines
Sunday, July 5, 2026: Rest of all free routines
The schedule may be adjusted based on the number of participants. A more detailed schedule will be shared through this site after preliminary registration closes.

Meals

A restaurant is available on site for meals and drinks.
Judges will be offered meals and drinks throughout the championships.

Photo and Video Registration

During this championship, photos and video recordings will be taken of athletes, judges, coaches, and spectators. These photos will be used exclusively for promotional purposes.

Information

More information can be obtained by contacting: info@fryslanopen.com

How to register

You can register for this event through this website.

Provisional Registration: link

Final Registration: link

These provisions can also be downloaded. Click the following link: Invitation Fryslân Open 2026