European Cup Combined Events is an annual track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 competition for Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an combined events specialists, with contests in men's decathlon

Decathlon

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...

 event and women's heptathlon. It is an international team event, where the points of each nation's top three performers are tallied to form an overall team score. The European Cup Combined Events takes place in three separate divisions – the Super, First, and Second Leagues – and nations gain promotion and relegation

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 between the leagues depending upon their performance. The three league contests take place over the same two-day period, but are held at different European locations.

Organised by the European Athletic Association

European Athletic Association

The European Athletic Association is the European governing body for the sport of athletics.- History :In 1932, during a meeting of the International Amateur Athletic Federation in Los Angeles, a special committee was designated by the Council with the task of reviewing the conditions for the...

 (EAA), the competition was first held in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 in 1973 as a biennial event for men's decathlon and women's pentathlon

Women's pentathlon

The pentathlon is a sports contest made up of five events . The women's pentathlon was contested in the Olympics from 1964 until 1980, and it was replaced in the 1984 Games with the heptathlon. It had a different set of events than the ancient Olympic pentathlon...

. The women's heptathlon superseded the pentathlon in 1981. For the first five editions (1973–1981), the competition featured semi-final and final stages, but a league format with A, B and C divisions was adopted at the 1983 event. The biennial schedule was changed to an annual one from the 1993 Cup onwards, at which point the league names took on their current titles.

The competition is one of a series of international team athletics competitions held by the EAA on a yearly basis, alongside the European Team Championships

European Team Championships

The European Team Championships is an athletics competition, between different countries of Europe, over 4 leagues. It is the successor of the former Europa Cup.-History:...

 for individual track and field events, the European Cup 10000m

European Cup 10000m

The European Cup 10000m is an annual 10,000 metres race for European athletes which was first held in 1997. The competition is organised by the European Athletics Association and first began as the European 10000 Metres Challenge after the event was removed from the European Cup programme...

, European Cup Race Walking and the European Cup Winter Throwing

European Cup Winter Throwing

The European Cup Winter Throwing is an annual continental athletics competition for athletes specialising in the events of discus, javelin and hammer throwing and the shot put. The winter event, organised every March by the European Athletics Association, is intended as a counter-balance to the...

 meet.

Individual performances in the Super league section of the competition qualify for the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge

IAAF World Combined Events Challenge

The IAAF World Combined Events Challenge is an athletics contest organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations for combined events, the heptathlon for women, and the decathlon for men. The medalists are decided by totaling the number of points that the athletes have scored in...

, which is an international series for athletes competing in combined events.

Editions

Ed.	Year	Men's competition			Women's competition
		Super league	First league	Second league	Super league	First league	Second league
1st	1973	Bonn, West Germany			Bonn, West Germany
2nd	1975	Bydgoszcz, Poland			Bydgoszcz, Poland
3rd	1977	Lille, France			Lille, France
4th	1979	Dresden, East Germany			Dresden, East Germany
5th	1981	Birmingham, England			Birmingham, England
6th	1983	Sofia, Bulgaria	Montargis, France	Graz, Austria	Sofia, Bulgaria	Montargis, France	Graz, Austria
7th	1985	Krefeld, West Germany	Arles, France	Copenhagen, Denmark Brunico, Italy	Krefeld, West Germany	Arles, France	Copenhagen, Denmark Brunico, Italy
8th	1987	Basle, Switzerland	Arles, France	Madrid, Spain	Arles, France	Basle, Switzerland	Madrid, Spain
9th	1989	Tønsberg, Norway	Helmond, Netherlands	Vienna, Austria	Helmond, Netherlands	Tønsberg, Norway	Vienna, Austria
10th	1991	Helmond, Netherlands	Stoke, England	Arhus, Denmark	Helmond, Netherlands	Stoke, England	Arhus, Denmark
11th	1993	Oulu, Finland	Valladolid, Spain	Hechtel, Belgium Tallinn, Estonia	Oulu, Finland	Valladolid, Spain	Hechtel, Belgium Tallinn, Estonia
12th	1994	Lyon, France	Brixen, Italy	Copenhagen, Denmark Tallinn, Estonia	Lyon, France	Brixen, Italy	Copenhagen, Denmark Tallinn, Estonia
13th	1995	Valladolid, Spain	Helmond, Netherlands	Reykjavík, Iceland Dilbeek, Belgium	Helmond, Netherlands	Valladolid, Spain	Reykjavík, Iceland Dilbeek, Belgium
14th	1996	Lage, Germany	Tallinn, Estonia	Riga, Latvia	Lage, Germany	Tallinn, Estonia	Riga, Latvia
15th	1997	Tallinn, Estonia	Oulu, Finland	Maribor, Slovenia	Oulu, Finland	Tallinn, Estonia	Maribor, Slovenia
16th	1998	Tallinn, Estonia	Brixen, Italy	Maribor, Slovenia Reykjavík, Iceland	Tallinn, Estonia	Brixen, Italy	Maribor, Slovenia Reykjavík, Iceland
17th	1999	Prague, Czech Republic	Huddinge, Sweden	Herentals, Belgium	Prague, Czech Republic	Huddinge, Sweden	Herentals, Belgium
18th	2000	Oulu, Finland	Ibach, Switzerland	Esbjerg, Denmark	Oulu, Finland	Ibach, Switzerland	Esbjerg, Denmark
19th	2001	Arles, France	Ried, Austria	Kaunas, Lithuania	Arles, France	Ried, Austria	Kaunas, Lithuania
20th	2002	Bydgoszcz, Poland	Riga, Latvia	Maribor, Slovenia	Bydgoszcz, Poland	Riga, Latvia	Maribor, Slovenia
21st	2003	Brixen, Italy	Tallinn, Estonia	Maribor, Slovenia	Brixen, Italy	Tallinn, Estonia	Maribor, Slovenia
22nd	2004	Tallinn, Estonia	Hengelo, Netherlands	Riga, Latvia	Hengelo, Netherlands	Tallinn, Estonia	Riga, Latvia
23rd	2005	Bydgoszcz, Poland	Jyväskylä, Finland	Maribor, Slovenia	Bydgoszcz, Poland	Jyväskylä, Finland	Maribor, Slovenia
24th	2006	Arles, France	Yalta, Ukraine	Monzón, Spain	Arles, France	Jyväskylä, Finland	Monzón, Spain
25th	2007	Tallinn, Estonia	Szczecin, Poland	Maribor, Slovenia	Tallinn, Estonia	Szczecin, Poland	Maribor, Slovenia
26th	2008	Hengelo, Netherlands	Jyväskylä, Finland	Maribor, Slovenia	Hengelo, Netherlands	Jyväskylä, Finland	Maribor, Slovenia
27th	2009	Szczecin, Poland	Zaragoza, Spain	Maribor, Slovenia	Szczecin, Poland	Zaragoza, Spain	Maribor, Slovenia
28th	2010	Tallinn, Estonia	Hengelo, Netherlands	Tel-Aviv, Israel	Tallinn, Estonia	Hengelo, Netherlands	Tel-Aviv, Israel
29th	2011	Torun, Poland	Brixen, Italy	Ribeira Brava, Portugal	Torun, Poland	Brixen, Italy	Ribeira Brava, Portugal

• Note: Locations shown for 1973 to 1981 are those for the final stage of the competition

External links

• Official website