October has been yet another topsy-turvy month with rules about training changing regularly depending on which tier your club is in, and now we are facing another country-wide lockdown starting on Guy Fawkes night which will close pools and suspend polo (at least indoors!) for 4 weeks.
As ever, the water polo community has shown great spirit and determination to train wherever possible and it is a great credit to all the coaches and helpers that so many clubs have been able to offer covid-secure training facilities which are so important to keeping the sport alive.
What a month of two halves September was! It started off with a sense of optimism that the sport might soon be able to return to competitive matches and ended with the introduction of the ‘Rule of Six’ limiting players over the age of 18 to training and playing in bubbles of only six people. We have also had the news that the British Water Polo League has abandoned the 2020/21 season due to the ongoing covid-19 crisis.
Welcome to the September edition of Water Polo News. As the summer comes to an end it is great to see that more clubs are able to return to pool based training but a concerning number still have no date in sight for when they will be able to return to the pool. A staggering one in five pools may never reopen due to the coronavirus pandemic. The water polo community has been shocked to learn of the indefinite closure of the centre of British Aquatics at Ponds Forge Sheffield.