European Aquatics U18 Water Polo Championship

European Aquatics U18 Water Polo Championship

Sport	Water polo
Founded	1983
Organising body	European Aquatics
Divisions	2
No. of teams	16 (Elite division)
Continent	Europe
Most recent champion(s)	Men:   Montenegro (3rd title) Women:   Spain (3rd title)
Most titles	Men:   Serbia (7 titles) Women:   Russia (6 titles)
Related competitions	European Aquatics U16 Water Polo Championship

The European Aquatics U18 Water Polo Championship, previously known as the LEN European Junior Water Polo Championship, is a continental water polo tournament held every two years for the players under the age of 18. ^{[1] [2]} In 2025, the age category was changed from U17 to U18. ^[3]

Age categories

Men

• European Youth Championship (U18) : 1983–2007 & 2025–
• European Junior Championship (U17) : 2008–2023

Women

• European Junior Championship (U18) : 2001–2007 & 2025–
• European Youth Championship (U17) : 2008–2023

Men's tournament

History

European U18 Championships

1983 (Istanbul, Turkey): Hungary

1985 (La Valetta, Malta): USSR

1987 (Athens, Greece): Yugoslavia

1989 (Istanbul, Turkey): Hungary

1991: not held

1993 (Veenendaal, Netherlands): Hungary

1995 (Esslingen, Germany): Yugoslavia

1997 (Maribor, Slovenia): Hungary

1999 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Croatia

2001 (Hagen, Germany): Hungary

Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2003	Istanbul, Turkey	Serbia and Montenegro	Hungary	Croatia
2005	Sofia, Bulgaria	Serbia and Montenegro	Croatia	Hungary
2007	Gżira, Malta	Serbia	Hungary	Croatia
Men's European U-17 Water Polo Championship
2008	Belgrade, Serbia	Hungary	Serbia	Croatia
2009	Chania, Greece	Croatia	Montenegro	Serbia
2011	Rijeka, Croatia	Croatia	Italy	Spain
2013 [4]	Gżira, Malta	Montenegro	Serbia	Italy
2015 Details	Baku, Azerbaijan	Serbia	Spain	Greece
2017 [5] Details	Gżira, Malta	Montenegro	Spain	Hungary
2019 [6] Details	Tbilisi, Georgia	Italy	Spain	Hungary
2021 [7] Details	Gżira, Malta	Serbia	Greece	Hungary
2023 [8] Details	Manisa, Turkey	Greece	Serbia	Spain
Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship
2025 [9] Details	Oradea, Romania	Montenegro	Serbia	Greece

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Serbia [a]	7	6	2	15
2	Hungary	6	4	5	15
3	Croatia	3	3	4	10
4	Montenegro	3	1	0	4
5	Italy	2	2	4	8
6	Greece	1	3	3	7
7	Russia [b]	1	1	0	2
8	Spain	0	3	4	7
9	Germany	0	0	1	1
Totals (9 entries)		23	23	23	69

Division I

Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2025 [10] Details	Rio Maior, Portugal	Israel	Belgium	Bulgaria

Women's tournament

History

European Youth Championship (U18)

2001, Jul 08-16 Manchester GBR GRE 8:6 CZE RUS

2003, Aug 02-10 Emmen NED RUS 11:6 HUN ITA

2005, Jul 30 - Aug 06 Porto POR RUS 16:8 HUN NED

2007, Aug 04-12 Chania GRE RUS 15:14p ITA ESP

European Youth Championship (U17)

2008, Aug 03-10 Győr HUN ITA 10:7 HUN RUS

European Junior Championship (U18)

2010, Jul 25 - Aug 01 Dneprozerzhinsk UKR RUS

Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2011	Madrid, Spain	Greece	Hungary	Spain
2013 [11]	Istanbul, Turkey	Greece	Spain	Netherlands
2015 Details	Baku, Azerbaijan	Russia	Spain	Greece
2017 [12] Details	Novi Sad, Serbia	Spain	Netherlands	Hungary
2019 [13] Details	Volos, Greece	Spain	Russia	Italy
2021 [14] Details	Šibenik, Croatia	Russia	Greece	Hungary
2023 [15] Details	Manisa, Turkey	Hungary	Spain	Greece
Women's European U-18 Water Polo Championship
2025 [16] Details	Gżira, Malta	Spain	Greece	Hungary

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Russia	6	1	2	9
2	Spain	3	4	2	9
3	Greece	3	2	2	7
4	Hungary	1	4	4	9
5	Italy	1	1	2	4
6	Netherlands	0	1	2	3
7	Czech Republic	0	1	0	1
Totals (7 entries)		14	14	14	42

See also

• European Aquatics U16 Water Polo Championship
• LEN European U19 Water Polo Championship

Notes

1. LEN recognizes Serbia as the successor team of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.
2. LEN recognizes Russia as the successor team of Soviet Union.

References

1. "Water polo European Competitions". Archived from the original on 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
2. "Water Polo Europe Championship Archive". todor66.com.
3. "New format of European cadet and youth Championships". total-waterpolo.com. 2025-02-07.
4. Montenegro claims gold medal - Malta day 8
5. "LEN 2017 Men's European Junior Water Polo Championships".
6. "LEN 2019 Men's European Junior Water Polo Championships".
7. "LEN 2021 Men's European Junior Water Polo Championships".
8. "LEN 2023 Men's European U-17 Water Polo Championship".
9. "2025 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship (Elite)". europeanaquatics.org.
10. "2025 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship Division I". europeanaquatics.org.
11. Greece on top again - Istanbul day 7
12. "LEN 2017 Women's European Junior Water Polo Championships".
13. "LEN 2019 Women's European Junior Water Polo Championships".
14. "LEN 2021 Women's European Junior Water Polo Championships".
15. "LEN 2023 Women's European U-17 Water Polo Championship".
16. "2025 Women's European U-18 Water Polo Championship". europeanaquatics.org.