Sports Cockpit · Solo, Track & Pool · World Aquatics rules 2026 · LA28 qualification

Artistic Swimming — routines, judging & the road to LA28

Governed by World Aquatics · Swimming Federation of India (SFI) ·Official rule books & government schemes only ·Last checked 17 Oct 2026

Education Margdarshan's artistic swimming map in simple words: what a routine is, how two judging panels score it, the time limits, the LA28 team and duet events and how places are won, the age rule, and the honest picture on money and jobs.

📍 See The Journey / Full Roadmap World Aquatics Competition Regulations 2026 (PDF) LA28 artistic swimming qualification (PDF)

Judges' scale: 0 to 10 in quarter points [1]
Olympic team: 8 swimmers (+1 reserve), up to 2 men [1]
LA28 places: 10 teams · 18 duets (96 athletes) [2]
LA28 age rule: Born on or before 31 Dec 2013 [2]

01 Core rules & selection formats

What a routine is and how it is judged

Artistic swimmers perform a routine to music — lifts, spins, leg movements and patterns — as a solo, a duet or a team. Routines can start on the pool deck or in the water. Officials also watch for any use of the bottom of the pool. [1]

Two panels of five judges score every routine: one for Elements (how well each skill is done) and one for Artistic Impression (choreography and music, performance, and transitions).
Scores run from 0 to 10 in quarter points — 10 is perfect, 7.0–7.75 good, 5.0–5.75 satisfactory, 0 completely failed.
Before the event, the coach declares the difficulty of each element; Difficulty Technical Controllers check that the swimmers really did it.
A team with fewer than 8 swimmers loses 0.5 points for each missing swimmer. [1]

Routine time limits (senior, ±5 seconds allowed) [1]

Routine time limits (senior, ±5 seconds allowed)
Routine	Time
Solo technical / free	2:00 / 2:15
Duet technical / free	2:20 / 2:45
Team technical / free	2:50 / 3:30
Team acrobatic	3:00

02 Institutional & global recognition

Olympics, Asian Games — and the cash that follows

LA28 artistic swimming — the hard numbers [2]

LA28 artistic swimming — the hard numbers
Rule	What it says
Events	Team (men and women; up to 2 men) and duet (women)
Places	96 = 88 + 8 for the host; 10 teams, 18 duets
Team route	Top 3 at Worlds Budapest 2027 → host → best team from continents not yet in (2027 continental championships) → 2028 World Cup Super Final
Duet route	Each qualified team gets a duet → 5 more from Budapest 2027 → 3 more from the 2028 World Cup Super Final

Artistic swimming is on the 2026 Asian Games programme; Asian Games medals earn the Sports Ministry's cash award (₹30 / 20 / 10 lakh). [3][4]

03 Physical benchmarks & anti-doping

Age rule and anti-doping

LA28 artistic swimmers must be born on or before 31 December 2013 — at least 15 by the end of 2028. World Aquatics also runs 12-and-under, youth and junior age groups with shorter routines. [2][1]

Under the anti-doping code you must be available for testing and check every medicine against the Prohibited List; apply to NADA for a TUE if you need a banned medicine. [5]

04 Grassroots-to-elite pipeline

From swimming lessons to a team routine

1Grassroots & local entry 12 and under
2State to national breakthrough Youth · junior
3National camp & elite trials 15+
4International orbit LA28

The full Artistic Swimming roadmap has its own page

Every stage from first club to the international level, the detailed route, the age-by-age ladder and what to eat from stage 1, with sources.

📍 See The Journey / Full Roadmap

05 Training centres & cities

Where artistic swimmers train

Artistic swimming is not named in SAI's NCOE or STC lists; SAI's swimming NCOE is the Dr SPM Swimming Pool Complex, Delhi. Most swimmers start at a swimming club with a coach who teaches routines. [6]

06 Equipment costs & who pays

Pool time, coaching — and who pays

Pool time and coaching are the main costs, plus music and travel. Education Margdarshan does not print fees — no governing body publishes them. [1]

Who pays [7]

Who pays
Stage	Paid by	What you get
Olympic prospect	TOPS Core Group	₹50,000 a month + approved training plan
Athlete in hardship	PDU National Welfare Fund	Up to ₹2.50 lakh

07 Earning channels & central job quotas

The honest job picture

Swimming is on the DoPT list of 65 sports, but artistic swimming is not named separately, and the 2026 Western Railway and CRPF notices had no artistic swimming posts. Asian Games medals earn cash awards. [8][9][10][4]

08 Disqualification traps

Mistakes that cost artistic swimmers

Going over or under time by more than 5 seconds.
Fewer than 8 in a team — 0.5 points off for each missing swimmer.
Not doing the declared difficulty — controllers check every element. [1]

09 Real-world player doubts

Straight answers

Can boys do artistic swimming?

Yes. Men can swim solo and mixed duet events at World Aquatics level, and an Olympic team may include up to 2 men. The LA28 duet event is for women. [1][2]

Does artistic swimming count for government jobs?

Not by name today: the DoPT list says swimming, and the 2026 Railways and CRPF notices had no artistic swimming posts. Asian Games medals still earn cash awards. [8][9][10][4]

10 Official sources & verification

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this Education Margdarshan page is taken from the governing body's own rule book or a Government of India file below, read on 17 October 2026. Federations change rules, weight classes and scheme amounts — open the current file before you act on it.

World Aquatics — Competition Regulations, Part Seven: Artistic Swimming Rules (in force February 2026) (opens in a new tab) Team size and men, judging panels, 0–10 scale, difficulty controllers, time limits, penalties, age groups, bottom of pool · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
World Aquatics — Qualification System, LA28 Olympic Games: Artistic Swimming (version 12 May 2026; copy published by NOC*NSF) (opens in a new tab) Team and duet events, 96 places, team and duet routes, birth-date rule · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games — Sports (opens in a new tab) artistic swimming at the 2026 Asian Games · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
MYAS — Scheme of Cash Incentive to Medal Winners (amended 1 Feb 2025) (opens in a new tab) Asian Games award amounts · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
NADA India — Athlete's Rights & Responsibilities (opens in a new tab) Testing availability, Prohibited List, TUE · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
SAI — Brief on Sports Promotional Schemes 2024-25 (opens in a new tab) NCOE and STC sport lists (artistic swimming not named; Dr SPM Swimming Pool Complex, Delhi for swimming) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
PIB — Financial Support to Athletes (5 Aug 2024) (opens in a new tab) Khelo India, TOPS, welfare fund, pension · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
DoPT — Instructions on Recruitment/Promotion for Sportspersons (18 Nov 2022) (opens in a new tab) 65-sport list (swimming listed; artistic swimming not named) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
Western Railway RRC — Employment Notice RRC/WR/01/2026 (Sports Quota), 27 Aug 2026 (opens in a new tab) 2026-27 sports-quota posts (artistic swimming not included) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
CRPF — Recruitment of Meritorious Sportspersons, HC & Constable (GD), Sports Quota 2026 (Advt. R.II-21/2026-Sports, 17 Sep 2026) (opens in a new tab) 2026 sports-quota disciplines (artistic swimming not included) · Last checked 17 Oct 2026
ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition — Dietary Guidelines for Indians (booklet), Guideline 8 (opens in a new tab) Cereal-pulse 3:1 protein quality, vegetarian and non-vegetarian protein sources; most athletes meet protein needs from food, protein powders unnecessary · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
NADA India — Managing the Risk of Nutritional Supplements (opens in a new tab) Supplement risk, strict liability, food-first approach · Last checked 15 Oct 2026

Spotted something out of date? Email margdarshan07support10@gmail.com with the official link and Education Margdarshan will update it.