World Aquatics is inviting applications for its Athlete Intern Programme, offering athletes the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in sports management as they transition from competition to a career beyond the pool.
Applications are now open for the World Aquatics Athlete Intern Programme, with the next cohort set to begin their placement in Lausanne, Switzerland in March 2027.
As part of World Aquatics' commitment to supporting athletes through every stage of their careers, the programme offers current and recently retired athletes the chance to work across departments at World Aquatics, gaining real, hands-on experience of how an International Federation operates and delivering the events and programmes that shape aquatic sport.
Athletes who have competed in at least one World Aquatics Championships, World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) or the Olympic Games within the past four years are eligible to apply.
Proficiency in English is essential, and a four-year university degree will be given extra consideration.
World Aquatics is looking for candidates with strong communication and organisational skills, adaptability, a collaborative mindset and above all a passion for aquatic sports.
The internship includes accommodation, a local transport pass and return flights to Switzerland for the duration of the placement. Applications, including a CV and cover letter, are open until September.
You can apply here.
Hearing from the current cohort
The programme's value is perhaps best reflected in the experiences of its current interns. Maana Patel, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic swimmer from India, joined World Aquatics after completing her Master's in Sports Management at the University of Bath, and has spent her internship working within the Development department.
“Every day I come to this beautiful office, I feel so grateful and I look forward to it,” Patel said. “This is my first-ever desk job, so it’s a different experience from what I was normally used to doing, but there is so much to learn just talking to people, understanding their roles and what they do, all the tasks I have been given.
“In general, it’s wonderful being in Lausanne because it’s the sports capital of the world and there are so many Federations around to network with people. I love this city and I love what I have been doing here.”
Among her key projects has been leading work on the National Member Federations' Survey, a comprehensive review conducted once every four years.
“I built a survey that has 220 questions,” she said. “I managed cross-department communications to make sure they had their opinions on the survey, so for me it was a very long project. I started working on it from the month that I joined, and we recently launched it. I do get questions from the National Federations seeking direction and help, so I answer to them, and I think it’s a very wholesome project I saw come to life. For me that was the highlight.
"I've come out a very confident person in general, because I have learned a lot more about the sports industry and about how an International Federation operates"
“I have more knowledge than I did previously when I started, so I feel very good about that.”
Alexandre Grand'Pierre, who joined the programme in February after completing his degree in Computer Science, has spent his internship working across several departments, including swimming management, communications and data systems within World Aquatics' General Management System (GMS).
“Every single day I'm working with different departments and different projects, from marketing to logistics to uniform shipments to development of new products and services for the sport and the organisation itself, and then also development programmes in terms of grassroots facilitation of swim education. It’s very broad, and Lausanne is beautiful,” Grand'Pierre said.
He described the experience as eye-opening, particularly in understanding the scale of what it takes to run a global sport.
“Just understanding what it takes to host and maintain a sport across five continents,” he said.
"At a given moment, we have three to four events happening in the same month in completely different areas of the world, so trying to manage all that is definitely valuable experience"
Grand'Pierre added: “It reinforced my own self-confidence in what I've studied, what I can provide and what I know I'm capable of.”
Both interns encouraged fellow athletes considering life after competition to explore the opportunity. As Patel put it: “I hope that any athlete that reads this understands what World Aquatics generally offers in terms of experience to athlete interns.”