The Club

Vouliagmeni Nautical Club was founded as an Athletic Club on February 23rd, 1937 by a group of friends brought together by their deep appreciation for the sea and a shared commitment to the pursuit of aquatic sports.

In April 1937, the first Board of Directors (BoD) was elected with Emmanouil Peppas as Chairman. By 1938, the Club had already grown to 80 members, while the acquisition of its privately owned land for the establishment of its premises became BoD’s primary concern at that time.

In August 1939, the Club organized its first swimming competitions in Vouliagmeni’s bay. However, with the onset of the war, the Club was forced to suspend its operations, as Vouliagmeni was mined and was declared a restricted zone.

The Club's assets, amounting to GRD 100,000 at the time, were allocated to the Front’s fundraising and solidarity committee. The Club received its first formal recognition when a letter from the then Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas in December 1940 highlighted the “Patriotic contribution to our children who are fighting on the battlefields against the invader in defense of our Homeland.”

In November 1946 the Club gradually began to resume its operations. A new BoD was formed with Athanasios Diakakis as Chairman and Anastasios Koutsogiannis as Secretary General and efforts were made to secure resources with the primary focus being its housing.

In February 1948 after numerous attempts, the first 12-year lease agreement for the coastal area, where the Club is currently situated, was signed with the Greek State. In 1955, a town-planning decree, which outlined the creation of the Nautical Club, was published in the Official Government Gazette.

Thus, Vouliagmeni Nautical Club acquired ownership of the land where its facilities are currently located. At that time, the Club's area was a coastal strip of land with steep terrain and difficult access.

The first project undertaken at the Club was a small wooden hut, where future plans were devised. This was followed by the construction of a 10-meter-long pier, designed to protect the Club from strong SE (Sirocco) winds. Next to the pier, a floating swimming pool was built, from which the first swimmers of the Club emerged to participate in National Panhellenic Competitions.

In 1959 the current restaurant of the Club was constructed, while at the same time, the Club discovered Water Skiing, with the tireless pioneer Chairman, Athanasios Diakakis, playing a leading role in introducing and establishing the sport in our country.

In 1962, three Club’s athletes - Ilias Lypiterakos, Spyros Diakakis and Victor Bourlas - represented Greece for the first time at the European Water Skiing Championships in Montreux, Switzerland, while the following year the first National Panhellenic Championships were held. Furthermore, in 1963 at the World Water Skiing Championships in Vichy, France, the Club's athlete Giannis Thomas won the gold medal in the "Water Ski Jump" competition.

Distinguished athletes of the 1960’s and 1970’s included George Pezmatzoglou, George Kasidokostas, Spyros Diakakis, Rika Nefousi, Margarita Politi, Ioanna Ntouni, Nikos Sofokleous, Eleni Kocheila, Anastasios Katageorgios, Takis Alexandris, Nikos Fragkistas, Eleni & Maria Fragkista, George Athanasiadis, George Tsailas, Tina Kabani, Dimos Alexopoulos, Andreas Kabanis, Ion and Tzortzis Milias, Theologos Stamatis, Grigoris Batsis, among many others.

In 1966 construction began of the small 25-meter swimming pool located in the Club’s southern section, thanks to the pioneer member Ioannis Tzelatis. In 1967, preliminary work commenced for the construction of the 50-meter Olympic-size pool, which was completed in 1975 with the support of the then Deputy Minister of Sports, Achilleas Karamanlis.

In 1975, after 37 years of continuous contribution and tireless efforts to establish and promote the Club, Athanasios Diakakis passed the torch to his successors. In 1981, he published a book entitled "The History of a Sports Club."

Since 1956 the sport of Water Polo has been gradually cultivated within the Club. From 1973 onwards, it became more systematically organized, eventually bringing the Club a series of significant achievements and distinctions from male and female athletes. In 1979 V.N.C. embraced the sport of Sailing, thanks to the then Chairman’s interest George Kabanis and then Head of the Athletic Divisions Panos Ioannidis.

The Club’s first sailors included Nikos & Sofia Spyropoulou, George Vareltzidis, Kostis Ioannidis, Ioannis Delikanakis, Alexandros & Ioannis Konnidas, Marily & Kelly Kalogera, Kostas Stamboulopoulos and Nikos Bartis.

Subsequently, the Sailing Division cultivated a pool of talent at a championship level, including - among others - Vasilis Portosalte, Harris Katikas, Odysseas Papadopoulos, Nonika Oikonomopoulou, George & Alfonso Panagiotidis, Nikos Agianoglou, Efi Mantzaraki, Makis Nikolaidis and Tzeli Skarlatou.

In 1980, at the Moscow Olympic Games, the Club’s Water Polo player Giannis Giannouris became the first athlete in the Club’s history to participate in the Olympic Games, securing the 10th place with the Greek Men’s National Team.

In 1984 George Mavrotas participated in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and in 2000 in Sydney Australia he completed five participations in Olympic Games.

In 1989, for the first time, the Club’s Olympic swimming pool began operating year-round. In 1991, both the Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Teams won their respective National Championships for the first time in their history.

In 1991 under the Chairmanship of Leonidas Seitanidis, the Club undertook the role of the host of Sailing races within the framework of Mediterranean Races leading to a significant upgrade of its facilities.

In 1993 and 1994, the Women’s Water Polo Team once again won the National Panhellenic Water Polo Championship.

In 1996, Nikos Kaklamanakis was crowned Olympic Gold Medalist, while our Water Polo athletes George Mavrotas, Teo Lorantos, George Afroudakis and George Psychos achieved distinction as Olympic sixth-place finalists.

That same year, the Men’s Water Polo Team of Vouliagmeni Nautical Club (V.N.C.) won the Greek Cup. In 1997, the team achieved its greatest distinction by winning the European Cup along with securing its second National Championship title in the Club’s history. The Club’s golden team went on to win the 1998 National Championship as well as the 1999 Greek Cup.

In 2000, our Women’s Team reached the final of the European Cup and in 2003 achieved its highest distinction by winning both the European and the National Panhellenic Championship titles.

During the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, under the Chairmanship of George Kabanis, the Club was designated as an Olympic Training Center to meet the needs of the Triathlon; a fact which contributed once again to the Club’s facilities’ upgrade, particularly its Olympic-sized swimming pool.

At the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, our athletes Giouli Lara, Antigoni Roubesi, Anthi Mylonaki, Evi Moraitidou and Andy Melidoni won the silver medal with the Women’s National Water Polo Team. Simultaneously, our athletes George Reppas, George & Christos Afroudakis, Dimitris Mazis and Petre Sada became 4th Olympic champions with the Men's National Water Polo Team.

Additionally, in 2004, our Men’s Team was a finalist in the European Cup, while the Women’s Team continued its tradition of excellence, winning the National Championships for the seasons of the respective years 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The commitment to fostering noble Sportsmanship remains unwavering, as the Club’s objective is to carry forward the legacy of its predecessors by harmoniously advancing both its athletic and social initiatives.