The 2022 European Water Polo Championships will take place in August and September in order to give the players sufficient time to recover after world titles were switched to the spring as a result of the pandemic.
LEN – the European governing body – announced on Friday that the championships would be held at the 10,000-seater Spaladium Arena in Split, Croatia, from 27 August-10 September.
They will follow the European Aquatics Championships which will be staged at the iconic Foro Italico in Rome from 11-21 August.
The decision to hold the event in August/September came about due to the domino effect of multiple postponements because of Covid-19, one of which was the rescheduling of the 2021 World Aquatics Championships to May 2022.
It means the world and continental showcases will be held in the same year but the players at least will have some recovery time between the two.
LEN president Paolo Barelli said in a press release:
“To have our top water polo event in July 2022 would mean an unbearable load for our great water polo players who will need to enjoy a substantial recovery period after an unprecedentedly busy spring.
“Athletes’ welfare has always been in the core of LEN’s policies and we shall never move away from our principles.
“The Croatian Water Polo Federation and the local organisers were all very supportive to hold the championships at the end of the summer.”
Croatian Water Polo Federation president Mladen Drnasin added:
“Though the event is still two years away, Croatia, the city of Split and the local water polo community are all already excited to welcome back the European Water Polo Championships to our country.
“International water polo events always enjoy a fantastic atmosphere here in Croatia and we expect nothing less this time. On behalf of the organisers and the city, we can promise to deliver another outstanding championships in 2022.”
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