LOOKING BACK . . .
Sixty years!! British club water polo has come a very long way since 1962, when the first men’s national league launched with all the associated problems of playing home and way, including shallow end pools, a single (home appointed!) referee and travel headaches (virtually no motorways). The women’s equivalent followed in slightly calmer circumstances (shared venues from day one) 25 years later.
Of course, another huge landmark occurred in 2010 as the two leagues merged to launch the British League, now the bedrock of the game in this country involving the best 64 teams from England, Scotland and Wales.
So there will be much to celebrate at Parliament Hill Lido on 9 July! A chance, too, to applaud the officials and clubs who had the foresight and determination to make it happen all those years ago. The founder teams were:
Men: Birkenhead, Birmingham & District League, Cheltenham, Otter, Polytechnic, Sheffield Dolphins, Sutton & Cheam and Weston-super-Mare.
Women: Stretford, Potters Bar, Coventry, Heanor Sirens, Dunfermline, Merseyside, Sheffield and Beckenham.
For a lot more information about the early years of both leagues – see History via the tab on the home page.
Of course, another huge landmark occurred in 2010 as the two leagues merged to launch the British League, now the bedrock of the game in this country involving the best 64 teams from England, Scotland and Wales.
So there will be much to celebrate at Parliament Hill Lido on 9 July! A chance, too, to applaud the officials and clubs who had the foresight and determination to make it happen all those years ago. The founder teams were:
Men: Birkenhead, Birmingham & District League, Cheltenham, Otter, Polytechnic, Sheffield Dolphins, Sutton & Cheam and Weston-super-Mare.
Women: Stretford, Potters Bar, Coventry, Heanor Sirens, Dunfermline, Merseyside, Sheffield and Beckenham.
For a lot more information about the early years of both leagues – see History via the tab on the home page.
