LATVIJAS ŪDENSPOLO FEDERĀCIJA
WATER POLO LATVIA
HISTORY OF WATER POLO IN LATVIA
1900
THE BIRTH OF WATER POLO
The origins of water polo can be traced back to the 19th century in England and Scotland. At that time, people demonstrated their strength and swimming skills with its help.
Water polo became an Olympic sport already in 1900 at the Paris Olympics and was one of the first Olympic team sports. Women's water polo debuted in the Olympic tournament exactly 100 years later - in 2000. Today, water polo is a popular sport in the world, especially in Europe (Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Montenegro, Greece, Russia), USA and Australia.
IN THE YEARS 1930-1940
IN LATVIA
The history of Latvian water polo begins in the 1930s, when there were several water polo clubs operating in Latvia, which trained in the open waters of Lake Ķeizarmežs and the river Daugava, as evidenced by historical pictures from the private collection of Aivars Kalnakārklis.
"WATER POLO IN DAUGAVA"
JĀNIS ALSBERGS
At that time, a work of art by a Latvian author dedicated to Latvian water polo was even created "Water Polo in the Daugava", Jānis Alsbergs, 1934.
IN THE YEARS 1950-1960
IN LATVIA
In the 1950s and 1960s, Latvian water polo players played in USSR and international competitions. The owner of these historical pictures, second-generation water polo player Aivars Kalnakārklis took part in the teams.
The last testimony about Latvian water polo activities at that time refers to the year 1967. It is considered that since then water polo did not exist in Latvia until 2011.
