27 teams to battle for European U19 title - new pool in Alphen

27 teams will battle for this year’s U19 title at the Men’s European Junior Championships to be held 25 August to 2 September at Canet-en-Rousillon, France. 19 contenders still have to play qualification tournaments which are held 24-27 May at Turkey, Netherlands, Portugal and Bulgaria. As usual the top of two each group advance to the 2012 Championships which are held in a famous aquatics city at the Mediterranean coast of Southern France.

In previous decades, the qualification tournaments were not exciting pretty often, but since 2006 year by year some of the groups have been pretty tough battlegrounds in the race for the second place, putting well-known waterpolo nations under pressure. Last year for example, the U17 teams from Turkey and the Netherlands missed the European Championships in Rijeka, Croatia. In the years before, junior teams from Russia, Germany, Slovakia and Romania had been facing knock-outs in the qualification tournaments as well,
 
A new venue will be presented for the matches of Group B. A 35 x 25 metres pool designed for waterpolo will be opened at the end of March in the Dutch city of Alphen aan de Rijn. It will be the new home of the former Dutch champion and 1983 European Champions Cup finalist AZC Alphen which is running a national centre of excellence for juniors was well. The top two of each group will go to France as usual; the top eight of the 2010 European U17 Championships in Stuttgart, Germany are already qualified for this year`s event, including the hosting nation France.
 
 
 
European U19 Junior Championships 2012
 
Draws qualification tournaments

Group A in Istanbul, Turkey
Turkey
Georgia
Moldova
Belarus
Cyprus
 
Group B in Alphen, Netherlands
Germany
Netherlands
Poland
Great Britain
Switzerland

Group C in Portugal – city to be announced
Slovakia
Slovenia
Romania
Portugal 

Group D in Sofia, Bulgaria
Russia
Bulgaria
Israel
Macedonia
Ukraine
 
The top of two each group advance to the 2012 European U19 Championships to be held 2-9 September at Canet-en-Rousillon, France.