CONTACT
WORLD AQUATICS
Chemin de Bellevue 24a/24b - CH - 1005 Lausanne SWITZERLAND
Tel: (+41-21) 310 47 10
Public Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 8h30 - 12h30/ 13h30 - 17h30 (CET)
OVERVIEW
World Aquatics’s headquarters are based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where a multinational staff runs all core operations with regards to each aquatic sport, marketing and communication plans and development policies under the management of the World Aquatics Executive Director Brent Nowicki.
Inauguration of the Headquarters on 19th July, 2018
HISTORY
London witnessed the birth of the Federation on July 19, 1908, and Lausanne has been the home base of FINA since its first permanent office was established in 1986. The FINA headquarters made a brief move to Barcelona, Spain, from 1989 to 1992, before returning to Lausanne after the 1992 Olympics in Spain.
Prior to the creation of its headquarters, FINA administration mostly took place in conjunction with the Federations’ regular Congresses, Bureau and Committee meetings, wherever they were being held, often depending on the nationalities of those in office and the geographic locations of new FINA-affiliated National Member Federations.
However, the growing popularity of aquatic sports, which has generated massive FINA development since about the time of its 50th anniversary, necessitated an increase in the number of people involved with FINA administration and the establishment of a permanent office. Consequently, the number of staff at FINA headquarters has also continued to expand to meet the rising demands involved with staging modern international aquatics competitions.
Former FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione (tenure 2008-2021) in his office together with the IOC President Thomas Bach
Four locations were established – the longest one being in Avenue de l’Avant-Poste, from 2001 to 2014 -, and in September 2016 the staff finally moved to a new property in Chemin de Bellevue 24a/b, 1005 Lausanne.
The World Aquatics office is now located in a two-building structure: one villa originally constructed in 1876, then enlarged in 1923, and acquired by FINA in 2010, plus an adjacent pavilion, erected to host part of the FINA staff.
The old property is an architectural protected site in Lausanne, so its façade had to be preserved. The internal structure was then adapted to the needs of a modern office administration – the original staircase to connect the three levels of the villa was refurbished and constitutes of the most significant remains of the past life of the property. The two structures – villa and pavilion – are connected by an underground passage.