From Aquatic Literacy to Elite Performance: Integrating Physical Education, Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention in Aquatic Sports

Aquatic sports play a fundamental role in promoting physical education, lifelong participation in physical activity, elite athletic performance, and athlete health. Recent advances in sport pedagogy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, rehabilitation sciences, and digital technologies have considerably expanded our understanding of aquatic sports. However, research remains fragmented across educational, performance, and clinical disciplines, which limits interdisciplinary collaboration and the translation of scientific evidence into practice.



This Research Topic provides an interdisciplinary platform that integrates research across the entire aquatic sports continuum—from the development of aquatic literacy and competence in educational settings to performance optimization, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and long-term athlete health in competitive environments. By bringing together experts from sport science, physical education, sports medicine, biomechanics, physiology, and rehabilitation, this collection promotes innovative approaches that improve participation, enhance performance, and support athlete well-being across all stages of development.



We welcome original research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, methodological papers, case reports, and data reports addressing swimming, water polo, artistic swimming, open-water swimming, and other aquatic activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary studies that bridge educational, performance, and clinical perspectives while advancing evidence-based practice.



Given the growing international interest in aquatic literacy, athlete health, technological innovation, and evidence-based coaching, this Research Topic provides a timely opportunity to consolidate emerging knowledge, foster collaboration among researchers and practitioners, and identify future directions for aquatic sports research.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Aquatic sports, Aquatic literacy, Aquatic competence, Physical education, Sport pedagogy, Swimming, Water polo, Artistic swimming, Diving, Open-water swimming, Swimming biomechanics, Exercise physiology, Performance enhancement, Performance analysis, Athl

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.