FINA conducted and concluded a gigantic survey to assess the state of aquatics around the world. Based on the data supplied by the national federations, some significant findings have been presented. Perhaps the most wonderful statistic is the number of registered aquatic athletes in the world - almost 35 million. They can swim in more than 90,000 pools – besides the natural waters of course.

The 2019 FINA General Survey aimed to gather data in order to monitor, explain and examine the structure and functioning of each NF. Thanks to the previous General Survey in 2017, it was possible to have an overview of the 207 federations affiliated at that time, when 167 national federations participated. In this version FINA asked its 209 national member federations with a higher rate of response (198 NFs) and more accurate detail in their answers.

To guarantee a continuous progress and development of the six aquatic disciplines, it was essential to review and create a new version in order to be updated about the evolution of the sport and our member federations.

The FINA General Survey of NFs was undertaken by the FINA Development Department. It reviewed the 2017 questionnaire to identify which topics were the most important to revisit and compare with the picture in 2019 and which areas required further refinement and potentially new areas of questioning.

The new survey was launched on April 1, 2019, and closed on July 29. It was conducted on Google Forms and was provided on a Word Document if necessary. The expectation was 100% participation, and the continental associations participated in approaching the federations which did not answer by the survey submission deadline. This report contains the answers of 198 national member federations.

The survey covered a range of topics:

  • General information of NFs: including general information, number of clubs active in the country, number of permanent administration staff and volunteers, if they have a bank account and if they use an external control audit
  • Members and participants: including World Championship and Olympic Games athletes’ participation, number of athletes per category, number of coaches in the country and if they have an education programme, officials and judges for all aquatic disciplines
  • Facilities: Including pools of 25 metres, 50 metres, other-size pools and specific structures for diving.
  • The NF’s performance programme: including if athletes have a performance programme and support, if they have additional technical staff; if the NF provides anti-doping education and organises national competitions.

As for the findings, it is great news that the total number of aquatic athletes is nearing 35 million, among them 106,000 identified as elite swimmers and almost 35,000 elite water polo players. There are more than 91,000 facilities worldwide, including 12,271 50m pools, 25,164 25m pools and 52,862 pools of other sizes. According to the national federations, 288,496 coaches work in the six disciplines, while at the various competitions almost 160,000 officials oversee the action. In almost all categories we can see a fine rise in numbers compared with 2017, which brilliantly mirrors the growing popularity of aquatics and the outstanding efforts of the national federations.

 

* Details of the Survey can be found on the FIINA Magazine. To access the online version of the magazine (2019/6) click here.