The death has occurred after a lengthy illness of Fred Holehouse, co-founder and president of Invicta.

For many years, Fred was a driving force behind the development of Kent water polo, serving as team manager. His water polo passions were Bexley WPC and Invicta. Nothing will have given him more satisfaction in recent years than seeing the rise of Invicta – capped last season when the club finished runners-up in the BWPL men’s Super 5s.
 
Invicta’s website reports: “Many Invicta players will remember Fred’s legendary newsletters, particularly in the days of home and away fixtures. Fred often used to say he was Britain’s greatest-ever uncapped goalkeeper – we can all vouch that he was an imposing figure between the sticks.

“Anyone who has played for or been associated with Invicta owes a great deal to Fred as his hard work and support enabled the players to play at the highest level in GB. He will be greatly missed by us all and our thoughts are with Pam and the family at this sad time."
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As the latest of its initiatives to help with the introduction of new FINA rules, the British League is proud to announce that Jacques Racine (pictured), one of Europe’s most distinguished water polo officials, will be a very special guest at the event at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, on 28/29 September.

Jacques, from Switzerland, will be taking a clinic for the League’s delegates on Friday, 27 September, and then talking to a gathering of referees on Saturday morning.

The visit has been set up by the League’s new Delegate Group, which oversees all matters relating to BWPL officials. Group chairman Jeff Parker explained: “The new rules now in operation are transforming the way that water polo is played – the biggest changes we have seen for many years.

“It’s essential that in GB we know and understand what is happening in Europe. Therefore, Jacques’s visit will be vital in helping BWPL officials aim for a consistent application of the changes.”
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Jacques has been a member of LEN Technical Water Polo Committee since 2004 and lectures at the LEN refereeing school. As a referee, he officiated in more than 180 internationals. He was also a FINA TWPC member for a number of years.
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In conjunction with Swim England, a course for new table officials is to be held during the BWPL weekend at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, Saturday, 12 October, 1pm-5pm.

The sport needs more officials – and, with teams from four BWPL divisions in action, it’s a great opportunity for players, supporters etc to get involved. Contact Mike Hesketh, michskth@gmail.com, to register.

With new rules in mind, a seminar for current BWPL officials is planned during the women’s Division 3 event at Northampton School for Boys, Billing Road, Northampton, NN1 5RT, on Saturday, 21 September. To book a place, please contact Michele Padbury, michele.padbury@bwpl.org.

For more details about new FINA rules, you can now read a helpful document – see New Rules and Application on the Information page.
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It’s based on the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee’s clarification document and has already been used in presentations at the BWPL annual meeting and at seminars organised during the inter-regional age group championships at Blackpool and Walsall.

The new British League season gets under way in three months’ time. Are you fully up to speed with the revamped FINA rules?

If not, we can help! During the national under-16 inter-regional championships at Palatine Leisure Centre, Blackpool, and at Walsall on 29 June and 6 July, four sessions have been organised for coaches and officials focusing on application of the new rules.
 
For detailed information, go to https://swimnorthwest.org/event-course/se-water-polo-interpretation-of-the-new-fina-rules/ for the Blackpool event and https://swimnorthwest.org/event-course/se-water-polo-interpretation-of-the-new-fina-rules-2/ for Walsall.

Meanwhile, the BWPL data system is now back in action and poised to accept your player/team official registrations for the new season. Deadline for initial registrations is 31 July; after that, additional registrations incur a £5 fee. It’s also time for delegates, referees and table officials to register and notify their availability for the first phase.

​Last season’s user accounts are still active but new passwords are required for security reasons.  To set a new password, go to the login page https://data.bwpl.org and click on the Reset Password link in the top navigation bar. You will then need to enter your email address and click on the Reset button.

The British League honoured two outstanding players and a leading club official when trophies were presented at the annual meeting at the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport on Sunday (19 May).
 
First up were the women’s and men’s Columbus Direct Trophies, donated by one of our most valued sponsors – travel insurance specialists, Columbus Direct – and recognising outstanding achievements among the League’s 2,000 players.
 
The women’s accolade went to Gael Drummond (Photo, Trevor Hyde), who over the years has been a driving force in the progress of her club, Caledonia, to the top of the women’s game. She’s a Scottish international and member of the Scottish water polo committee.
 
Winner of the men’s award was Solihull’s Nick Beard, who, remarkably, is still playing Division 1 polo some 30 years after making his debut in the former men’s National League for City of Birmingham. He went on to represent Nova Centurion and Penguin before finally returning to his home club, Solihull, and proudly winning a League champions medal in 2017.
 
The Dave Warriner Memorial trophy, for outstanding service to the League and the sport in general, went to James Reddick who, quite apart from his duties as Polytechnic’s secretary, has made such a phenomenal contribution as the BWPL technical guru and creator of both the website and the data system, which underpins every aspect of the League operations – from registration of players and coaches to publishing fixtures, results and instantly-updated tables.
 
A reminder that Columbus Direct offer a 12% discount on their products to all BWPL members. See advertisement.

Swim England has today issued more information and guidance regarding LEN International Transfer Certificates (ITCs) and the need for compliance.

It says that "concerns have been raised with us regarding potential non-compliance and, as a consequence, we have started to conduct a thorough review of those concerns, including the evidentiary basis for, and credibility of, any allegations of non-compliance, alongside a general membership-wide review.

"In defining the scope of the review we are maintaining a focus upon transfers, historic or recent, for members who were registered in the 2018 membership year and those who hold current membership.

"This will include an ongoing check of membership and transfer records to establish whether or not a player has moved to Great Britain to play water polo from a nation where the transfer rules are applicable.

"Where competitions are upcoming or ongoing, notably the British Championships and the inter-regions, members are reminded of the need for compliance and all players should hold a relevant transfer certificate having transferred into the country from abroad. Otherwise they, and the club which they represent, could be subject to sanction."
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The transfer window operated by LEN opens again on June 1. The full Swim England statement can be found at ​https://www.swimming.org/waterpolo/water-polo-transfer-information/