general News
WATERSWIM JOINS BWPL – AND ANNOUNCES NEW AWARD!
Dutch sports goods company Waterswim, which specialises in water polo costumes and caps, has become the latest sponsor of the British Water Polo League.
And Waterswim (www.waterswim.co.uk) is launching its partnership with BWPL by announcing a new award – the winners of this season's Super 5s men's and women's competitions will receive a set of caps, customised with club and sponsor logos.
The Waterswim company was formed 10 years ago in Columbia and Arnoud Posthuma, of Waterswim Europe, a Dutch international goalkeeper for more than five years, is the official European Distributor.
Waterswim already sponsors the current men’s and women’s champions of Holland – BZC Borculo and GZC Donk - as well as Polar Bears. In the past year, the company has supplied more than 45 clubs in Holland and Germany with customised hats, trunks and suits.
Waterswim’s service includes free designs, fast delivery following design approval and order confirmation (approximately 5 to 6 weeks); repeat orders in low quantities (even one piece); and flexible pricing.
BRITISH LEAGUE MOURNS DEATH OF ROGER HARGREAVES
British Water Polo, and the British League, in particular, lost a great friend with the sudden death on 12 August of Roger Hargreaves, aged 72, former international referee and one of the sport's outstanding administrators.
The former men's National League owes much of its success to Roger, he was its first match secretary between 1966 and 1975 and then served as general secretary (for six years) and treasurer. But his contribution to water polo extended well beyond the NWPL, as the ASA recognised seven years ago when he was awarded the prestigious annual Harold Fern Award, presented for outstanding service by an individual to any of the four competitive disciplines.
Water polo had been a major feature of Roger's life since, as a 12-year-old, he played alongside his father for the Nuneaton club. He went on to gain representative honours with Warwickshire, Leicestershire and the Universities Athletic Union (he studied at Leeds University). And it was with Leamington Spa that he enjoyed great success at club level, playing in the top division of the National League and winning an ASA Club Championship winners' medal in 1975, which led to Leamington's appearance in the European Cup Winners' Cup in Greece.
His refereeing career started at 19 when he joined the Birmingham and District League panel. At 27, he became a National League referee; later on, his international experience included officiating at European Championships and World Masters Championships.
To modern water polo players and referees, Roger was the bearded, avuncular father figure who ensured the smooth running of British League weekends as delegate. Indeed, he was one of the senior officials who helped introduce the delegate system to British polo via the men's National League some six years ago.
To those responsible for administering the National League, and now the enlarged British League, he was a reassuring and ever-willing presence in the background, as a rules guru (he advised the British League on its new rules), on disciplinary matters or anything else that required his knowledge and experience.
Roger was educated at Bablake School, Coventry. At Leeds University, he held his first administrative post, as fixture secretary of the University Swimming Club.
It was at Leeds that he met and married Jill, another swimmer, and they had two children , daughter Chris and son Phil. After graduating, he spent the whole of his working career in management with the National Coal Board and its successors, retiring in 1989 when he was deputy manager of a coal mine employing 1600 men.
Following retirement from international refereeing, he acted as the team manager for the successful women's team of City of Coventry, his original club, in several of their forays into European competition.
Since 1962, he had continuously served as secretary of at least one organisation, including Nuneaton Swimming Club, the Birmingham and District Water Polo League (now the Midland League), the ASA Midland District and the ASA. He was also Midland Water Polo League treasurer.
Roger was a long-serving member and former chairman of the ASA Technical Water Polo Committee and the ASFGB TWPC .
BWPL chairman David Andrews said: "In addition to the personal loss many of us will feel, the League has lost a true friend. Water polo as a whole is poorer for the passing of Roger."
More than 200 people attended the funeral, which took place on Thursday, 25 August, at Nuneaton Crematorium.
Players and officials observed a minute's silence in Roger's memory during the opening weekend of the BWPL season at the University of Bath.
DEATH OF OLYMPIAN BOB KNIGHTS
The death occurred on 24 March of Bob Knights, of Polytechnic, a member of the most recent Great Britain team to take part in the Olympics at Melbourne in 1956.
Bob joined Poly in 1950 from the Stoke Newington club shortly before completing National Service in the Army. He was a regular GB player from the mid-1950s until the early 1960s, captaining the side in the later years.
Former Poly and GB goalkeeper Neil May says: “Bob was a wonderful player and a tremendous character – he will be sorely missed by all those lucky enough to have known him.
“Bob would have been 80 this summer. He had suffered a stroke in 2000 which left him severely handicapped but his cheerfulness and sense of fun to the very end was an inspiration.”
Bob Knights lived in Mayland, Essex, next door to his sailing club – where he was still able to get on the water. He was a key figure in the great era of Poly water polo; this included competing against 12 national teams at the World Youth Games in Moscow in 1957, when Poly finished fourth behind Russia, Hungary and East Germany.
He leaves wife Jill, daughter Kate, sons Barry and David and four grandchildren.
The funeral took place on Thursday, 14 April, at St Barnabas Church, Mayland, Essex.
