The Water Polo Federation of Ukraine ( uk, Федерація водного поло України (FVPU), "Ukrainian Water Polo Federation of Ukraine") is an all-Ukrainian

public organization The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

whose goal is to develop

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The Federation organizes official water polo competitions and is an affiliated member of

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

and

LEN Len or LEN may refer to: People and fictional characters * Len (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lén, a character from Irish mythology * Alex Len (born 1993), Ukrainian basketball player * Mr. Len, American hip hop DJ *Le ...

– the

International Swimming Federation FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

and the European Swimming Federation. It cooperates with the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

, as well as other Ukrainian and international

sports organizations Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

. The activities of the Federation is guided by the Charter, the new version of which was approved on March 13, 2020. The Water Polo Federation of Ukraine was officially registered by the

Ministry of Justice of Ukraine The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство юстиції України) is the main body in the system of central government of Ukraine that regulates state legal policy. It is often abbreviated as "Мinjust" f Ukraine It ...

on July 8, 2005. Since June 17, 2021, the president of the Federation has been Oleksandr Yuriyovych Svishchov, president of the water polo club Dynamo (

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

). Oleksandr Kucherenko, who headed the Federation since 2000, was elected honorary president of the organization.

History

Water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

, as an independent sport, has been developing in

for more than 100 years. It is believed that

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

was the first center for the development of water polo in

- it is said that already in 1908, Kharkov athletes took part in all-Russian competitions, but there is no documentary evidence of this. On July 26, 1914, in

, on Pelchinsky Ponds, water polo competitions were held with the participation of athletes from the Lviv

sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

"Погонь" - an article about this match was published in the newspaper "Курьер Львовский" on July 27, 1914. However, the further development of water polo in Lviv was delayed due to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During the period between

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

, the development of water polo resumed in Kharkov. One proponent of the sport was the teacher Ivan Viktorovich Vrzhesnevsky, who became the rector of this institute after the end of the war. In the last pre-war championship of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Kharkov water polo players won in the 2nd group. At the same time, 34 water polo teams participated in the championship of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. After 1938, the Kiev club "Vodnik" participated in the

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

of the USSR. In the post-war years, the main centers for the development of water polo in Ukraine were

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

Lvov Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

and

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...

. In particular, teams were restored in Kiev (Nauka, Vodnik, Dynamo, Spartak, Bolshevik, SKIF), in Lvov (Dynamo, Spartak), and in Kharkov (Dynamo). Since 1945, teams from Kyiv and Lvov have taken part in the USSR championships. In the 1970s, Kiev's "Dynamo" team won the silver and bronze medals of the championship of the USSR several times. In 1974 and 1975, Ukrainian teams won bronze medals of the USSR Championship - silver in 1976 and bronze in 1977. The greatest success during this period was the victory of Dynamo Kyiv in the USSR Cup in 1980. Dynamo Lviv in 1989 and 1991 won bronze medals in the USSR championship, and was also twice a finalist in the USSR Cup. In 1991, Ukrainian clubs interrupted their performances in the last USSR championship, held in Kyiv. In the spring of 1992, a short transitional championship of Ukraine took place with the participation of seven teams: Kyiv and Lviv Dynamo, Lokomotiv Kharkiv, Azov-Mariupol, Polygraphist Lvov, the team of the Black Sea Fleet of

. In the autumn of 1992, the II Championship of Ukraine began, which was held according to the autumn-spring system. Also in 1992, the championships of Ukraine among women, youths of all ages and cup competitions started. At the same time, the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine was created, which until 2005 operated without legal registration. On November 28, 2021, the Ukrainian national team became the winner of the League of Nations international tournament held in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

for the first time in the team's history.

Notable Ukrainian water polo players

* Avdeev, Mikhail Mikhailovich (born 1931), Honored Coach of the USSR * Boyko, Alexander Yuryevich (born 1942), Honored Coach of the USSR, in 1981 and 1985 led the youth team of the USSR, which won the World and European Championships * Gaydayenko, Yuriy Mikhailovich (November 29, 1949 - September 6, 2018), Honored Coach of Ukraine. * Martynchik, Vadim (January 10, 1934 - September 1, 2010), Dynamo Lviv, Honored Coach of the Ukrainian SSR, Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports of Ukraine * Pinsky, Gennady Naumovich (1932–2017), Dynamo Lviv, Honored Coach of the USSR

References

Books

* {{Cite book , title=Водное поло. История развития игры в СССР и в России , publisher=ЗАО «Олимпийская панорама» , year=2002 , isbn= , editor-last=Рыжак , editor-first=Михаил , volume=1 , location=Moscow , language=ru , trans-title=Water polo. The history of the development of the game in the USSR and in Russia

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

Sports organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in Ukraine