International Swimming Federation
Overview
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) for administering international competition in the aquatic sports (its name translated from French is "International Swimming Federation"). It is one of several IFs which administers a given sport/discipline for the IOC and/or international community. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
.
FINA currently oversees competition in five aquatic sports: swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming
Synchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
and open water swimming
Open water swimming
Open water swimming takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, canals, and reservoirs.The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam several miles to cross the Hellespont from Europe to Asia.In...
.
On July 24, 2009, Dr. Julio Maglione
Julio Maglione
Dr. Julio César Maglione is a member of the International Olympic Committee from Uruguay. He has been an IOC member since 1996....
of Uruguay was elected FINA President.
FINA was founded on July 19, 1908 in the Manchester Hotel in London, UK
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the end of the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
by the Belgian, British
Amateur Swimming Association
-History:It was the first Governing Body of swimming to be established in the world and today remains the English national governing body for swimming, diving, water polo, open water, and synchronised swimming....
, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian and Swedish
Swedish Swimming Federation
The Swedish Swimming Federation is the governing body of swimming in Sweden. It was founded in 1904 and is a member of LEN and FINA...
Swimming Federations.
Number of national federations by year:
- 1908: 8
- 1928: 38
- 1958: 75
- 1978: 106
- 1988: 109
- 2000: 174
- 2008: 197
At the January 2010 FINA Bureau meeting, Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
became the 202nd national federation of FINA.
Unanswered Questions
