Saturday 19 May marks the 50-day countdown to the LEN European Nations Trophy which takes place in Manchester from 8-15 July.

Commonwealth Games venue Manchester Aquatics Centre plays host to the international men’s water polo tournament, which sees 12 teams from across Europe battle it out for a European title.

Great Britain has been drawn against France, Poland, Ukraine, Israel and Ireland, whilst hot favourites Montenegro are in a group with Belarus, Turkey, Malta, Belgium and Macedonia.

The LEN European Nations Trophy is critical in the development of the British men's team for London 2012 and is an important opportunity to expose British officials and volunteers to international competition as the nation prepares to host the Olympics in just over five years time.

British Water Polo National Performance Director Nick Hume outlined the importance of the event for the development of the sport.

“It is an exciting time for everyone involved in British Water Polo to have an event such as this taking place on home soil,” he said. “The opportunity to host a tournament in this country does not come around very often.

“The men’s team has not played in Europe together for a while. We have a young, enthusiastic squad, and this tournament is an important part of their development in the lead up to London 2012.”

“We have not had the opportunity to test ourselves against European teams in a competitive setting with the current squad, and playing against our European counterparts will allow us to see how much progress we have made.” said Hume.

Tickets for this event cost as little as £5 per day (£3 for concessions) and are available online at www.manchester2007.com or by calling 0800 220 292. Clubs and groups can benefit from discounted rates with 15% off the face value of a ticket on purchases of 10 or more tickets.

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For more information contact British Swimming media officer Amanda Smith on 01509 632238, 07876 652 318 or email amanda.smith@swimming.org

British Swimming is the National Governing Body for Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo and Open Water in Great Britain.  It is responsible internationally for the high performance representation of the sport. The members of British Swimming are the three Home Countries national governing bodies of England (Amateur Swimming Association), Scotland (Scottish Amateur Swimming Association) and Wales. (Welsh Amateur Swimming Association)  British Swimming seeks to enable its athletes to achieve gold medal success at the Olympics, Paralympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
www.britishswimming.org

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The LEN European Nations Trophy has been part funded by UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Events Programme, which aims to secure events of strategic importance that deliver a range of lasting benefits. These include economic, social and cultural benefits as well as improving sporting performance by home athletes, encouraging participation and leaving a legacy of facilities and development initiatives. Over 120 sporting events have been staged in the UK through the programme since 1997. More at www.uksport.gov.uk

The LEN European Nations Trophy is part of Manchester City Council's event programme. Media enquiries: Helena Davison, Manchester City Council Press Office 0161 234 3729. For the Council's full calendar of 'Events to listen out for…' the public should call Manchester Visitor Information Centre on 0871 222 8223*, visit www.manchesterlive.co.uk or text 'EVENT' to 60600 for FREE events text alerts/offers - direct to their mobile (subscribers can opt in or out at any time and details/Terms & Conditions can be found at www.eventext.com.
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