England and GB Senior Men & Women commit to an exciting future! - February 23, 2018

We are pleased to announce that the 2018 Commonwealth Tournament is now fully confirmed for Sept 23^rd – 30^th 2018 at the Tal-Qroqq Sports Complex, Malta with entries accepted from Malta, NZ, England, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, Barbados and Singapore.

Chair Ian Elliot

With this exciting competition in prospect, we are also delighted to announce that Ian Elliot, Chair of the Water Polo Management Group, has confirmed that, subject to continuing support from the sport’s governing bodies, England will host the next Commonwealth Tournament event in 2022 to coincide with the multi-sport XXII Commonwealth Games hosted by Birmingham.

HC Tim Dunsbee

A step on the road to the Commonwealths at a recent BWPL event at Ponds Forge, Sheffield saw the senior England and Scottish men’s sides go head to head in an exciting encounter before full stands. England men’s Head Coach, Tim Dunsbee told us that he was pleased with the performance of the new-look England men’s side. Noting that the team combined players from GB’s London 2012 squad along with players from last year’s World University Games in Taipei, Tim described the team as, “a good mix of youth and experience with 18 year old Matt Maddon and 16 year old Thomas Manley both making their England senior debuts”. Announcing David Taylor from Cheltenham Swimming and Water Polo Club as a new Assistant Coach, Tim is planning forthcoming training weekends in Manchester and a camp in Lille, France leading up to the EU Nations championship in May and beyond.

HC Theo Nousios

Meantime, the Women’s senior program under highly experienced Head Coach, Theo Nousios, has stepped up with the publication of a very exciting and ambitious plan encompassing entry to this year’s Commonwealth Tournament, followed by the Europa Cup and the World University Games in 2019 with the aim of qualification for the European Water Polo Championship in 2020.

With an initial squad of just under 30 players and a program of training weekends in Manchester to support these objectives, Theo remarked, “It is a full and challenging calendar, and only the best, fittest, strongest and most committed players will be selected”

Unsurprisingly given these exciting developments, Ian Elliot was very upbeat when he spoke to us; “With the support of the community, coaches, officials and players we have been able to implement a strategy for the men’s and women’s game in England and GB which now looks beyond the short term. Entering both our men’s and women’s senior sides into the Commonwealth Tournament this year, and even more so, announcing our plan to host the event in 4 years’ time subject to continuing support from our sport’s governing bodies, demonstrates our commitment to a long term future for our sport at a high level.

Ian was very clear, “We must be ambitious as a sport; looking once again to be competitive in Europe and beyond, and I know that the community will provide all the support necessary to help our athletes achieve their full potential. The hard work continues to ensure that the programmes are not prohibitive due to athlete and parental cost and can be delivered by our team of dedicated volunteers to the performance standards laid out by the Management team”.

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