JULY 2025

Hello European Aquatics family,

July has been a month which has seen many of our competitions

conclude, as well as progress made on our organisational commitments.

This month's European Aquatics Newsletter covers information surrounding our sports as well as updates on our Aquatics Social Responsibility (ASR) and Academy (EAA) workstreams.

Aquatics News

European Aquatics successfully delivered key events this summer, including the European Junior Swimming Championships in Šamorín, Slovakia, and Leg 3 of the Open Water Swimming (OWS) Cup in Paris.

The 2025 European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships took place in Šamorín, Slovakia from July 1–6, with Great Britain topping the medal table with 9 golds and 19 total medals. Highlights included Filip Nowacki’s championship record of 2:08.32 in the men’s 200m breaststroke and Amalie Smith’s wins in the women’s 200 m and 400m individual medley.

During the Junior Championships, European Aquatics and Special Olympics Europe Eurasia (SOEE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). More here.

The event was further highlighted by the attendance of the President of Slovakia on the final day of the Championships.

Looking ahead, the 2026 event calendar has been released, confirming hosts and dates for several competitions. More here.

Additionally, the Paris 2026 calendar has been officially revealed, marking another exciting step toward a landmark year for European Aquatics.

World Aquatics Championships Singapore 2025

The World Aquatics Championships 2025 in Singapore has been a resounding success for European athletes since the beginning of the competition on 11th July, with the event running until 3rd August.

So far, Germany are the best-performing nation from the continent with six gold medals, mostly courtesy of Florian Wellbrock's four titles across four open water events.

Spain were the best performing artistic swimming European nation with three golds, with Italy being the only European country to take a gold medal in diving. Spain and Romania both have one medal in high diving.

In the pool swimming events, Germany, France and Romania lead the European charge with two gold medals each, while France's Leon Marchand lit up the venue individually as he set a new world record time of 1:52.69 in the Men's 200m Individual Medley semi-final, before going on to take the gold medal in the event.

European Youth Olympic Festival 2025

Italy were the most successful swimming nation at the European Youth Olympic Festival 2025 in Skopje, North Macedonia, which took place from 20th - 26th July.

With a total of seventeen medals, eight of them gold, they were the best performing country on both metrics, with a total of 19 nations taking to the podium across the week.

Turkey's Arel Guletkin, Great Britain's Austyn Manley, Maksim Malyshka, Italy's Alessandra Mao and Hungary's Boroka Kertesz all took two individual titles, as the next generation of swimming talent made their mark on the continental stage.

European Aquatics sent two delegates and experienced international swimming officials to support the competition.

Water Polo News

The 2025 European Aquatics U16 Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Championships were held in Istanbul, Turkey, featuring 32 teams (16 per gender). In the men’s event, Serbia, Spain, Italy, and Greece advanced directly to the quarterfinals, while in the women’s tournament, Hungary, Greece, Italy, and the Netherlands were among the top performers, with all teams battling through competitive group stages and knockout rounds in a strong display of Europe’s next generation of water polo talent.

Water Polo Certification

The certification process for table officials has now begun on the EAA platform. All officials must pass the programme to officiate 25/26 events. 300 people have already signed up, with a total of 1000 expected.

The nomination process for 25/26 delegates has concluded, with the certification course being held in September in Belgrade.

The nominations process for 25/26 referees is open from 1-22 August. All successful referees will also be invited to the same Belgrade event.

Aquatics Social Responsibility (ASR) News

Four more European Aquatics competitions successfully completed their sustainability certification process.

The Waves of Change - DEI and Integrity Forum will take place on 26 September in Tbilisi, Georgia.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between SOEA and EA at the Junior Swimming Champs in Samorin on 4 July.

The requirements for the Swim Safe Europe annual conferenc (28-30 November) have been sent to National Federations to apply for.

A development meeting with National Federations took place successfully on 11 July to assess the progress of ongoing projects, particularly the EAA and ASR initiatives.

A total of 14 applications was received for the certification of Learn to Swim (LTS) programs under the SSE framework, with the application period closing on 30 June 2025.

European Aquatics continues to strengthen its environmental engagement through alignment with the Sports for Nature framework. National federations have been encouraged to share their ongoing sustainability initiatives via an online form.

Next month’s schedule for sustainability certification includes the European Aquatics U18 Men Water Polo Championship – Division I, taking place from 18–24 August in Rio Maior, Portugal.

European Aquatics Academy

There was a meeting on 11 July with National Federations regarding the European Aquatics educational sector.

The purpose of the meeting was to present and discuss the EA Coaches Certification Process, the recognition of existing certifications, and future collaboration in the field of coach education and broader academy programs.

All of the coaches clinics from this summer's European Aquatics competitions can be accessed here.

World Aquatics Bureau election

At the 2025 World Aquatics Congress in Singapore, European Aquatics secured strong representation on the newly elected World Aquatics Bureau, with nine European members taking up key roles.

Antonio Silva of Portugal, President of European Aquatics, was elected Second Vice President and also named one of five European Continental Representatives, alongside Kyriakos Giannopoulos (Greece), Otylia Jędrzejczak (Poland), Sarah Keane (Ireland), and Josip Varvodić (Croatia), all backed by 98% of European federations.