Since its early beginnings, the International Swimming League (ISL) has operated with an athletes-first approach. As the only global professional swimming league operating on a truly international scale, it has attracted top-tier swimming talent by adopting the stance of treating these world-class athletes as stakeholders rather than products. By giving athletes stability in their careers and the ability to generate reliable earnings, the ISL has created a new paradigm in the world of competitive swimming and has put the spirit of competition and sporting excellence back at the heart of every tournament. Founded by Konstantin Grigorishin, who began supporting children’s swimming in 2009 and established the Energy Standard Swimming Club in 2012, the ISL has reshaped the professional landscape of competitive swimming.
How Does the ISL Work?
The International Swimming League, first established in 2018, is a competitive swimming organisation structured around a model of team-based, points-driven competitions. The league has attracted top international swimmers and has welcomed athletes from across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Oceania to its events. In its first season, ISL featured eight clubs (four from North America and four from Europe), and in the second season, added two more clubs – one from Canada and one from Japan. Even from its inaugural season, ISL included athletes from all six continents.
Each ISL season brings together ten clubs (eight in the first season and ten in the second and third) in a championship that features a regular season, playoffs, and a grand final. Every meet features four clubs, with swimmers earning points in individual and relay events that contribute to their club’s total. League points are then awarded based on team placement, ensuring that every performance directly impacts the collective result.
League competitions focus on a short-course format, primarily sprints and relays, and offer fast-paced events that are designed to appeal to both spectators and athletes.
The ISL is built on a foundation of putting athletes at the heart of operations, rather than treating them as a commodity. Athletes who participate in the ISL are stakeholders in the sport and are offered fair compensation and an element of career stability that is rare within the wider world of competitive swimming.
Why is this New Format so Valuable?
As the industry currently stands, economic security is rarely guaranteed to many of even the swimming world’s top athletes. Elite swimmers who enjoy global recognition and deliver world-class performances still, more often than not, find themselves constrained by limited prize pools, inconsistent and unreliable sponsorship, and minimal institutional support. This structure can make it increasingly difficult for top athletes to maintain a consistent income or for new talent to break into the sport if they come from a less-advantaged economic background. This format restricts swimmers’ ability to grow a career in the competitive swimming sector and can mean that potential new talent is unable to enter the industry due to financial limitations.
The International Swimming League is designed in a way that puts the wellbeing of athletes back in the equation and provides these competitors with an avenue to achieve sporting excellence without having to sacrifice their financial wellbeing. The new format for competitive swimming that the ISL offers is something that directly combats systemic inequalities present across the wider industry.
By incorporating elements such as guaranteed salaries, performance-based bonuses, and transparent revenue sharing, the ISL has built a structure that evens the playing field for athletes and teams from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. This platform opens up the competition to ensure that sporting talent is the primary qualifier for participation, rather than economic privilege.
Building a New Dynamic
The International Swimming League created a paradigm shift in the traditional practices of the competitive swimming sector. The league’s athletes first approach and fast-paced format evens the playing field and puts athletic talent and spectator entertainment back at the forefront of competitive swimming events. The ISL offers a window into what the world of competitive swimming can look like when athletes are treated as essential pieces of the puzzle rather than just products of the industry.