🌎 History of the Underwater Rugby World Championships

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Underwater rugby is a sport of great growth in recent decades. The first world championship of this sport was held in 1980 in Mulheim, Germany where 7 countries participated.

After the end of the 11th CMAS Underwater Rugby World Championship held in Graz, Austria from July 27 to August 3, 2019, this has been the historical participation in the World Championships, with interesting data from each of the National Teams.

  • 11 men’s and 8 women’s world championships have been played in 8 different countries.
  • 23 countries have participated in the male category, 18 in the female category.
  • In the men’s category, 16 teams from Europe, 5 from America, 1 from Oceania and 1 from Africa participated.
  • In the women’s category, 11 teams from Europe, 5 from America and 1 from Oceania have participated.
  • 5 countries have been titled Men’s World Champions: Sweden 5, Denmark 2, Norway 2, Finland 1 and Colombia 1.
  • 3 countries have been titled Women’s World Champions: Germany 3, Norway 3 and Sweden 2.
  • 6 countries have won medals in men: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Colombia.
  • 4 countries have won medals in women: Germany, Sweden, Norway and Colombia.
  • Colombia is the only non-European country to win a World Championship in both categories and achieve medals (1 gold and 1 bronze in male and 3 female bronzes) in the World Championships of this sport.
  • Colombia is the only non-European country to host Underwater Rugby World Championships, with Cali being the only city in the world that has done it twice.
  • Germany, where the first World Championship was held and which gave rise to this sport has not yet been able to start the Men’s World Champion.
  • Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Germany are the only countries that have been present in all editions in both branches.
  • The largest participation in the men’s category was in Graz 2019 with 17 countries.
  • The largest participation in the female category was in Graz 2019 with 14 countries.
  • In Graz 2019 they debuted in World Championships: Great Britain, Hungary, Slovakia and Luxembourg in the men’s category, while Austria, Great Britain and Canada debuted in the women’s category.

World Championships

Nations participations

See online charts

Sources: World of UW Rugby / CMAS UW Rugby Championship Archive

Last Updated on January 14, 2020