How many swimmers are in an artistic swimming team, and can a reserve be swapped in?
I · Intermediate · The routines · 1 of 7A team has four to eight swimmers, and eight at the Olympic Games. A team that swims with fewer than eight loses half a point for each swimmer missing. Reserves named on the entry may be swapped in before a session, if the Referee is told in writing at least two hours before the first routine.
How it works
- Team: "at least four (4) but not more than eight (8) athletes".
- Olympic Games: "Team routines shall consist of eight (8) athletes." A federation enters at most nine, one of them a reserve.
- World championships: four to eight, with up to two reserves.
- Men: the athletes entered may include a maximum of two men.
- Fewer than eight: half a point is deducted from the total score "for each athlete less than eight" in the team technical routine, the team free routine and the acrobatic routine.
- Same number throughout: the number of team athletes "may not change between Preliminary and Finals or Technical and Free Routines".
- Reserves: one for a solo and a women's duet, up to two for a mixed duet, a team and an acrobatic routine.
- Swapping: listed athletes "may be interchanged before routine sessions". Changes go to the Referee in writing at least two hours before the published start of the first routine.
- Late changes: only for sudden illness or accident, if the reserve is ready and the competition is not delayed. The Referee decides.
Tricky cases
Can a team of six swim at the world championships?
Yes. The minimum is four. It loses half a point for each swimmer short of eight, one point in all.
A team swims eight in the preliminary and one swimmer falls ill before the final. Can it swim seven?
No. The number may not change between preliminary and final. A reserve must take the place, and if the lack of a reserve takes the team below the size required, the team is disqualified.
A coach changes a swimmer and forgets to tell the Referee. What happens?
The routine is disqualified. Failing to notify a substitution has that result.
Can the reserve swim the technical routine and the first choice the free routine?
Yes. Listed athletes may be interchanged before routine sessions, as long as the change is notified in time.
Why the rule exists
Patterns and lifts are easier to keep together with fewer swimmers, so a small team would have an advantage in synchronisation. The half point per missing swimmer balances that. The two-hour notice lets the officials and the announcer work from the right names.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | Eight swimmers and one reserve | AS 6.2.1 |
| World and junior championships | Four to eight and two reserves | AS 6.2.2 |
| Free combination | Four to ten | AS 6.2.3; AS 13.3 |
| Entry changes after the deadline | Only on medical grounds. Others carry a fine of 500 US dollars | AS 6.1.5 |
From the rule book
World Aquatics, Competition Regulations, Part Seven: Artistic Swimming Rules (in force as from 1 January 2025), Articles 6.1.5, 6.2, 6.3.1, 13.1 to 13.6, 18.4.1, 18.8.1 and 18.9.1. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: World Aquatics Competition Regulations (PDF).