World Aquatics is the global governing body recognized for administering aquatic sports at an international level. Its core function is the establishment and enforcement of regulatory frameworks, competition standards, and technical rules for disciplines including swimming, diving, artistic swimming, water polo, and high diving. The organization operates as a regulatory authority overseeing the competitive integrity and structured development of these sports across its member federations worldwide.
The entity is tasked with organizing and managing the biennial World Aquatics Championships, serving as the paramount event for performance validation and record adjudication within the sector. World Aquatics maintains a strictly institutional focus on the technical execution of events, athlete qualification protocols, and anti-doping compliance, ensuring standardized and equitable global competitive infrastructure. Its mandate is purely technical and administrative. Founded as FINA (Fédération internationale de natation; International Swimming Federation) in 1908, the federation was officially renamed World Aquatics in January 2023.
