The French team are scattered at various warm-weather camps this month. Laure Manaudou and her Mulhouse teammates are in the Seychelles, while sprinter Alain Bernard is heading for a training camp in Coral Springs, Florida, before returning home for the Lyon leg of the French Cup on February 22-24. Coralie Balmy, who gave Manaudou a scare over 200m freestyle at the European s/c championships in Hungary in December, will return to her roots when she arrives in Martinique today for a two-week camp with with coaches Frédéric Barale et Lucien Lacoste.

In Spain, Rafa Muñoz has been confirmed as a member of the Spain team for the European Championships in Eindhoven, March 18-24. He will race 50 and 100m butterfly and is a strong contender for the 'fly berth in the medley relay.