History of European Water Polo Championships

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 time people did not believe

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 held for the first time

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 a deadline of only one

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 place from 7 to 13

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 on the principle of a

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 was short because only 4