~ Honouring Safe Sport Day, World Aquatics reaffirms its commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment across aquatic sport through the launch of the Aquatics Integrity Unit’s (AQIU) new safeguarding resources for Member Federations, athletes and their support personnel, as well as the introduction of mandatory safeguarding education requirements for World Aquatics competitions from 2027.
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 08.08.2026) :: Safe Sport Day, celebrated annually on 8 August, is a global initiative led by Safe Sport International to protect and promote safeguarding within sport.
The AQIU’s safeguarding resources provide practical guidance and educational materials designed to help Member Federations promote best practices and enhance safeguarding measures within their organisations. These resources also support ongoing education initiatives, ensuring athletes, coaches and support staff have access to this information on safeguarding responsibilities and standards.
As part of this initiative, from 1 January 2027, new mandatory education requirements will be put in place for all registered Athletes and Team Officials participating at all World Aquatics competitions. In addition to Athletes, the Team Officials category includes Coaches, Head Coaches, Chefs de Mission, Team Leaders, Support Staff, Doctors, Medical Professionals, Massage Therapists, Physiotherapists and Media Liaisons.
Completion of the Safeguarding Essentials (Course 1) eLearning course, or an AQIU-recognised safeguarding course will become compulsory for registered Athletes and Team Officials before participating in all 2027 World Aquatics Events.
“Safe Sport Day reminds us that creating safe sporting environments requires action from everyone. By introducing mandatory safeguarding education for all registered Athletes and Team Officials from 2027, we are taking another important step towards ensuring everyone can train and compete safely,” said AQIU Spokesperson.
These initiatives reflect World Aquatics’ ongoing commitment to safeguarding and reinforce the shared responsibility of everyone involved in aquatic sport to prevent harm and ensure accountability on and off the field of play.
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