EA President Silva calls on national federations to support European community projects for water polo and swimming

European Aquatics President Antonio Silva is inviting National Federations to involve themselves with community projects proposed for 2026 as part of the federation’s ongoing work in developing aquatics sports across the continent.

This year EA plans to submit two new project applications under the European Cooperation Partnership programme, namely Mixed Ability Waterpolo and SwimSense.

The first of these projects is a Cooperation Partnership proposal under Erasmus+ Sport 2026 coordinated by the Serbian Water Polo Federation.

The project addresses a clear gap in European sport practice: the limited accessibility of water polo for people with disabilities and other marginalised groups, despite the sport’s strong educational and social potential.

The second project will focus on researching the accuracy and reliability of Smart Wearables which carry out automated data collection that can monitor and motivate swimmers of all ages and profiles in their physical activity programmes.

There will also be an emphasis on establishing guidelines and training for health promoters, technicians, trainers and institutions to use these devices consistently and usefully.

European Aquatics thus invites all affiliated national federations to express their interest in participating in the respective Cooperation Partnership project consortia.

Participation in these projects offers federations the opportunity to:

• contribute to the design and implementation of innovative European initiatives
• strengthen collaboration with other national federations and stakeholders across Europe
• gain visibility and recognition for their expertise and activities at the European level
• aaccess potential funding and resources to support local programs and initiatives

Federations interested in participating are kindly requested to email their expressions of interest by January 27, 2026 to euprojects@europeanaquatics.org  

Please include a brief description of your federation’s potential role and experience relevant to the projects.

“Last year,” Silva said, “one of our submitted Cooperation Partnership projects was successfully approved (“AquaSafe Kids (ASK)” Reference: 101245132 Amount: 400.000,00€), demonstrating the value and impact of our collaborative approach.

“European Aquatics looks forward to your engagement and collaboration in these important Cooperation Partnership initiatives and is confident that, together, we can achieve a meaningful and lasting impact for the aquatics community in Europe.”

Full details of the proposed 2026 projects can be found here:

https://europeanaquatics.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Waterpolo_Project_Concept_Note_Partner.pdf

https://europeanaquatics.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SwimSense-CN.pdf

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

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