PRESIDENTIAL MONTHLY REPORT
June 2013
Paolo Barelli
President
It’s been a joyful June marking the first half of 2013 when even more LEN activity
is ahead of us as the temperature rises and our athletes continue to prepare and
perform at events across Europe and other continents.
DIVING
• The Arena European Diving Championships were held in Rostock (GER) from June
18th to 23rd. The German Swimming Federation and the Organising Committee
delivered a successful LEN Event that offered a high level of technical quality. Local
diving fans filled the stands of the Neptun swimming pool and cheered for these
extraordinary athletes while enjoying the beauty of their performances. The LEN
President visited Rostock for the event and was welcomed by LEN Vice President
and German Swimming Federation President Christa Thiel as well as by the Mayor of
the Hanseatic City of Rostock Roland Methling. LEN looks forward to returning to
Rostock for the 2015 edition of these European Diving Championships that are sure
to be even more successful.

OPEN WATER SWIMMING
• Leg 2 of the 2013 European Open Water Swimming Cup was held on June 22nd in
Balatonfüred (HUN) where the Hungarian Swimming Association put together a
spectacular celebration to commemorate Hungarian Aquatics as well as European
Aquatics Day. The LEN Event offered intense open water racing in Lake Balaton with
extremely close finishes in both the women’s and men’s categories. Hungarian
Olympic Champion Eva Risztov and double Olympic participant Brian Ryckeman of
Belgium won and earned the 20 points for the general classification of the Cup
Series that will continue in July in Turkey and in August in Hoorn (NED) and Navia
(ESP), and will conclude with the Cup Final in Hamburg (GER) on the 17th and 18th of
August.
MASTERS
• The 7th edition of the European Masters Water Polo Championships took place on
Margaret Island in Budapest (HUN) from June 24th to 29th with sixty‐two teams from
sixteen nations in the 30+ to 65+ age categories. Participants enjoyed their stay and
the competition in one of the most renowned and historic aquatic venues in Europe.
The Hungarian Water Polo Federation organised a great event for these passionate
water polo enthusiasts and LEN Vice President Erik van Heijningen and LEN Water
Polo Manager Marco Birri were there to see the championships, with the 2014
European Water Polo Championships to be held in July of next year at the same
venue also in mind. LEN’s gratitude was expressed to Hungarian Water Polo
Federation President Denes Kemeny and his colleagues for the enormous efforts in
having everything ready after the flooding of the Danube that occurred so soon
before the event.
MEETINGS
• June 11th and 13th saw the external auditors visit LEN Office to meet the office staff
and continue their work of examination and evaluation of LEN’s accounting.
• During the 50th edition of the International ‘Settecolli’ Trophy (June 13th to 15th)
the LEN President met with LEN Treasurer Tamas Gyarfas and LEN Vice Presidents
Francis Luyce and Erik van Heijningen in Rome to discuss current affairs.

• The LEN President met fellow LEN Bureau Member and Turkish Swimming
Federation Vice President Onat Yildirim in Istanbul on June 26th to discuss
possibilities of staging upcoming short course and long course European Swimming
Championships in Turkey.
• From June 26th to 29th the LEN President visited Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, where
Paolo Barelli had several meetings with the Minister of Youth and Sports of
Azerbaijan, Azad Rahimov, with the President of the National Swimming Federation,
Khanlar Fatiyev, as well with Vice President Mark Koganov and General Secretary
Farid Bananyarli. The main issue discussed was the incorporation of LEN affiliated
member federations’ junior delegations to the 2015 European Games which are to
be held in Baku in June of that year. This will effectively replace the European Junior
events that were to take place in 2015 in four of LEN’s five disciplines (swimming,
diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo). An impressive new swimming
complex is being built and will be ready soon. LEN Water Polo Manager Marco Birri
also accompanied the President and discussions concerning upcoming LEN Events
being staged in Azerbaijan were on the agenda as well.

Projected Image of the Swimming Complex in Baku
We are currently enjoying and in the middle of the European Junior Diving
Championships taking place in Poznan (POL) from July 3rd to 7th, while also looking
forward to the Arena European Junior Swimming Championships at the same venue
soon after (July 10th to 14th), and then the European Junior OWS Championships
(and Cup Leg 3) in Darica‐Kocaeli (TUR) at the end of July.
And of course the FINA World Swimming Championships and all the activity that
surrounds the event of the year will be at the center of our attention from July 19th
to August 4th. We wish you the best at all these events and in all of your endeavors.
Paolo Barelli
President