Ligue Européenne de Natation or
LEN (trans: European Swimming League) is the
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to
FINAFina may refer to:*Fina, a character in the Skies of Arcadia video game*FINA, the International Swimming Federation*FINA, the North American Forum on Integration...
—it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was founded in 1927 in
Bologna, ItalyBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
.
LEN comprises 51 national swimming federations in Europe, and includes
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Their headquarters are in
LuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. The running of LEN is overseen by an elected Bureau (board) composed of Members representing 17 different Federations. LEN oversees aquatic sports in Europe:
divingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
,
swimmingSwimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
,
open water swimmingOpen water swimming takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, canals, and reservoirs.The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam several miles to cross the Hellespont from Europe to Asia.In...
,
synchronized swimmingSynchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
and
water poloWater polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
.
Competitions
LEN runs various competitions within Europe, these are:
- European Aquatics Championships (held in even years; includes swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and open water swimming)
- European Water Polo Championship
The European Water Polo Championship is a sport competition for national water polo teams, currently held biannually and organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation , the governing European aquatics federation. There are both men's and women's competitions.The first European Water Polo...
(run every second year)
- European Short Course Swimming Championships (run every year)
- European Masters Championships (run every second year)
- European Junior Championships
The European Junior Swimming Championships is an annual swimming competition for European swimmers organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation and held over five days...
(run every year)
- European Open Water Championships (run every second year)
LEN also runs various Cups in swimming and water polo as well as meets for junior swimmers.
Member federations
The following national federations are part of LEN:
– Albanian Swimming Federation –
Federació Andorrana de NatacióFederació Andorrana de Natació is the governing body of swimming in Andorra. It is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1985. on a meeting at the Andorran Olympic Committee. It is both a member of LEN and FINA.- External links and references :...
– Association of Water Kind of Sports of the Republic of Armenia – Österreichischer Schwimmverband (OSV) – Azerbaijan Swimming Federation – Swimming Federation of Belarus – Fédération Royale Belge de Natation –
Swimming Federation of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Swimming Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the governing body of swimming in Bosnia. It is a non-profit organization that was founded on December 1, 2002 at a meeting at the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
– Bulgarian Swimming Federation / Българска федерация по плувни спортове – Hrvatski plivački savez – Cyprus Amateur Swimming Association – Czech Swimming Federation / Český svaz plaveckých sportů – Dansk Svømmeunion – Estonian Swimming Federation / Eesti Ujumisliit – Svimjisamband Føroya – Suomen Uimaliitto –
Fédération Française de NatationThe Fédération Française de Natation , is the aquatics national federation for France. It oversees competition in the 5 aquatics disciplines in France and its outlying areas/departments.It is affiliated to:*FINA, which oversees...
– Georgian Aquatic Sports National Federation – Deutscher Schwimm-Verband (DSV) – Amateur Swimming Association of Gibraltar
Great BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
–
British SwimmingBritish Swimming is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Great Britain. British Swimming is a federation of the national governing bodies of England , Scotland , and Wales...
– Hellenic Swimming Federation / ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΤΙΚΗ ΟΜΟΣΠΟΝΔΙΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ (KOE) – Magyar Úszó Szövetség (MÚSZ) –
Icelandic Swimming AssociationThe Icelandic Swimming Association is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Iceland. SSÍ brings together all the swimming clubs in the country, organizes the national championships and manages the national team. It is affiliated with...
–
Swim IrelandSwim Ireland is the national governing body of swimming and associated aquatic disciplines in Ireland, including Northern Ireland. It is affiliated with both LEN and FINA.- History :...
–
Israel Swimming AssociationThe Israel Swimming Association is the major swimming federation in Israel; it brings together all clubs in the country, organizes the Israeli swimming championships as well as the swimming competition of the Maccabiah Games....
– Federazione Italiana Nuoto (FIN) – Latvijas Peldesanas Federacija – Liechtenstein Swimming Association –
Lithuanian Swimming FederationLietuvos plaukimo federacija is the governing body of swimming in Lithuania. It is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1924. During Soviet Union occupation federation was closed and re-founded at 1991 . It is both a member of LEN and FINA....
/ Lietuvos plaukimo federacija (LPF) – Federation Luxembourgeoise de Natation et de Sauvetage – Swimming Federation of Republic of Macedonia –
Aquatic Sports Association of MaltaThe Aquatic Sports Association of Malta is the governing body of swimming, and water polo in Malta. It is affiliated with both LEN, FINA and COMEN.-External links:*...
– Water Kind of Sports Federation of the Republic of Moldova – Federation Monegasque de Natation –
Water Polo and Swimming Federation of MontenegroThe Water Polo and Swimming Federation of Montenegro is the governing body of water polo and swimming in Montenegro...
– Koninklijke Nederlandse Zwembond (KNZB) – Norges Svømmeforbund – Polski Związek Pływacki – Federaçáo Portuguesa de Nataçáo – Federatia Romana de Natatie si Pentatlon Modern – All Russian Swimming Federation – San Marino Swimming Federation – Plivački Savez Srbije – Slovenská Plavecká Federácia – Plavalna Zveza Slovenije – Real Federación Española de Natación – Svenska Simförbundet – Schweizerischer Schwimmverband (SSCHV) – Turkish Swimming Federation / Türkiye Yüzme Federasyonu – Ukrainian Swimming Federation / Федерація плавання України
External links