15th European Championship – Split (Croatia) 1981 Change of rulesThe water polo tournament in Split was the first European Championship to be held according to the new rules. 7-minute quarters were introduced, and it was allowed to have 13 players on the team, not 11 as before. This clearly allowed coaches to make more frequent …
13th European Championship – Vienna (Austria) 1974 Separate pool for water polo The European Championships took place in the very centre of Vienna, in the Stadionbad. To this day, an extremely popular venue with about 10 pools of different sizes, water slides, and various attractions. Each water sport was allocated its own pool at this …
11th European Championship – Utrecht (Netherlands) 1966 Electronic debutFor the first time, an electronic timing system was used at the European Championships. It was especially important for the swimming disciplines, but it was also useful for water polo. However, just in case, there was still the good old “stopwatch” on the scoreboard because at that …
9th European Championship – Budapest (Hungary) 1958 For the first time on Margaret Island (Margit Sziget)After 32 years, the European Water Polo Championships returned to the country that has been most successful in the sport. After 1926 and the first European Championship held in the swimming pool of Csazsar (now Bela Komjadi), the competition was …
7th European Championship – Vienna (Austria) 1950 Later relocation to AustriaOriginally, the 1950 European Championships was to be held in Budapest, which had already taken over the organization of the competition. However, in 1948, LEN requested permission from Hungary for all athletes, judges, and foreign fans to enter without visas. The Hungarian government was given …
5th European Championship – London (Great Britain) 1938 The last pre-war championship The 1938 European Championships in London took place barely 13 months before the start of the most terrible war conflict in human history, and for the first time in the home country of water polo, Great Britain. The European Championships in London took …
3rd European Championships – Paris (France) 1931 Round robin Paris, once again an Olympic city, hosted the 3rd European Championships which was held on more days than there were teams. In fact, the matches took place from 23 to 30 August 1931, i.e. for 8 days, and there were 7 national teams. It was played …
1st European Championships – Budapest (Hungary) 1926 The tournament lasted only five daysThe first European Water Polo Championships was held in the capital of Hungary, Budapest. The water polo tournament, which was part of the European Aquatics Championships, lasted only five days, from 18 August to 22 August. Only 4 national teams competedLogically, the tournament …
