Update from Ian Elliot, Chair of the Water Polo Management Group - July 1, 2017

We are very pleased to bring you the latest update from Ian Elliot, Chair of Swim England’s Water Polo Management Group…

May and June have been very busy for our national squads. In front of capacity home crowds at the East Manchester Leisure Centre, our GBR junior men’s team missed out on qualification to the LEN European Junior Championships, finishing third in the group behind Romania and Ukraine who have both now qualified for the finals. The event was managed and delivered by our local volunteer management team, and underwritten financially by Manchester City Council and private individuals. The weekend included a senior men’s Home International fixture between England and Scotland, the first representative polo game involving senior English players since 2014, with all the England players making their senior debuts. The event was a sell-out and fans were treated to an exciting match which ended 8-8 at the end of full-time, eventually being settled in England’s favour on penalties.

England Senior Men
image credit Piers Martin

GBR Junior Men’s team with TM Fliss Leighton

The men’s team then competed for the first time in the senior EU Nations hosted by Poland, and  finished a creditable third behind South Africa and Malta.  This followed the strong performances of England’s junior women, who were victorious in their tournament, while the junior men finished runners up in their event. Well done to all concerned.

Our U17 junior women’s GBR squad is in advanced preparation for the LEN Junior Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia in September with domestic and overseas training camps in prospect, including training matches in Hungary.  The U19 men also continue their preparations for the 2018 European Championship qualification event with comprehensive training plans.

Both senior men’s and women’s British University teams are preparing for the World University Games which will be held in Chinese Taipei in August 2017.  Prior to this, as part of their preparation, the England women travel to the Czech Republic on 13 July for the Women’s EU Nations and the men to a friendly tournament in Portugal on 20 July.

Selection has recently been made and announced for the women’s squad for both EU Nations and the WUGs, and I extend my congratulations to all athletes selected, while the men’s selection will follow early in July.

After the successful delivery of the LEN U17 men’s qualification Tournament in Manchester, we are pleased to announce that England will host the EU Nations U21 men’s and women’s tournament on 17-19 November 2017. Management and delivery of this tournament forms part of the long-term strategic event strategy of the WPMG, Manchester City Council and the local management team, and we look forward to another exciting Manchester event delivered to a very high standard.

The National Academy finale for academy squads will be held in Lancaster at the end of August, and congratulations to all those selected.

Coaching development is another area in which the WPMG is very active. Work to review level 1, 2 and 3 courses is now complete and CPD training courses have been documented for all levels of water polo.

The rewrite of the National Plan for water polo levels 8, 9 and 10 is nearing completion which focuses on teaching young players underpinning the WPMG commitment to a full sport pathway from participation through to international squads.  Further details will be released shortly.

Ian Elliot

Meantime the Water Polo Management Group continues in discussions with Swim England regarding its strategic vision for water polo, and the levels of funding which will be made available for the sport going forward, and we hope to have clarity for the community in due course.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything raised here with Ian or the Group please contact Ian at ian.elliot@nicholls-colton.co.uk and he will be delighted to help.

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