Professionalism[edit]
It is not a straightforward professional sport as almost all the money for elite and international swimming is held by national governing bodies for the sport because it is generated by amateurs' subscription fees, government grants, the Olympic Games and the World Aquatics Championships (and in each country, the national trials to qualify for the preceding). This results in a mix of fully professional, semi-professional, and amateur swimmers at this level. Fully professional swimmers will typically get a salary both from their national governing body and from outside sponsors, semi-professionals a small stipend from their national governing body, and amateurs that receive no funding. Outside of these major championships prize money is low - the 2015 FINA World Cup series has a total prize fund of $3,000 per race shared between the top three[17] and the 2014-15 USA Grand Prix Series $1,800[18] compared to the 2015 World Aquatics Championships fund of $60,000 per race shared between the top eight.[19]