Russian aquatics sports federations vote to merge into a single organization

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Four Russian swimming sports federations convened for a joint reporting and election conference on Thursday, where they voted to merge into a single organization, a TASS correspondent reported.
The voting took place at the headquarters of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
The merger resulted in the establishment of the Russian Aquatics Federation, formed from the unification of the Russian Swimming Federation, the Russian Synchronized Swimming Federation, the Russian Water Polo Federation, and the Russian Diving Federation.
Previously, these federations operated independently until 2024. In contrast, the global governing body for swimming, World Aquatics, currently functions as a unified organization overseeing six sports: swimming, synchronized swimming, water polo, diving, open water swimming, and extreme high diving.
On October 1, 2024, President of the Russian Swimming Federation Vladimir Salnikov announced the decision to unify all Russian swimming federations into a single entity. He emphasized that this measure could logically extend the integration processes initiated by the unification of the gymnastics federations in October 2024, stating that it would “create a stronger and more coordinated structure capable of effectively advancing our sports disciplines.”.