Aquatics

Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, usually 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.

Swimming is an individual or team sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with varied distance events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. In addition to these individual events, four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle or medley relay. A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke, ordered as backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. Swimming each stroke requires a set of specific techniques; in competition, there are distinct regulations concerning the acceptable form for each individual stroke. There are also regulations on what types of swimsuits, caps, jewelry and injury tape that are allowed at competitions. Although it is possible for competitive swimmers to incur several injuries from the sport, such as tendinitis in the shoulders or knees, there are also multiple health benefits associated with the sport.

Emilio Polli (1901–1983) was an Italian swimmer. He was in the Olympic swimming team at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, and in the national team at the first two European Championships, at Budapest in 1926 and at Bologna in 1927. He competed in 100 m freestyle and 4 × 200 m freestyle events.

High diving is the act of diving into water from relatively great heights. High diving can be performed as an adventure sport (as with cliff diving), as a performance stunt (as with many records attempts), or competitively during sporting events. It debuted as a sport at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona. In the world championships, men jump from a 27-metre-high (89 ft) platform while women jump from a 20-metre-high (66 ft) platform. In other official competitions, men generally dive from a height of 22–27 metres (72–89 ft) while women dive from a height of 18–23 metres (59–75 ft). The sport is unique in that athletes are often unable to practice in an authentic environment until the days leading up to a competition. High diving has been designated a sport separate from regular diving by FINA. High divers have achieved speeds of descent of 96 kilometres per hour (60 mph).

Synchronised swimming, referred to by international governing body FINA as artistic swimming since 2017, is a hybrid form of swimming, dance, and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronised routine (either solo, duet, trio, mixed duet, free team, free combination, and highlight) of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music. Artistic swimming is governed internationally by FINA, and has been part of the Summer Olympics programme since 1984.

Water polo is a competitive team sport played in the water between two teams. The game consists of four quarters in which the two teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the most goals at the end of the game wins the match. Each team is made up of six field players and one goalkeeper. Except for the goalkeeper, players participate in both offensive and defensive roles. Water polo is typically played in an all-deep pool meaning that players cannot touch the bottom.

FINA (French: Fédération internationale de natation, English: International Swimming Federation) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competition in water sports. It is one of several international federations which administer a given sport or discipline for the IOC and international community. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers.

World Aquatics Day is an international day which recognises, and celebrates physical activity in aquatic sports. It was established by the organisation FINA, and takes place on the first weekend of July. This comes just before 19 July, which commemorates the founding of the federation in London, 1908.

This article lists the in the water and on the water forms of aquatic sports for 2015.