​President Trevor Pledger has warned that the British League is close to “breaking point” due to a critical shortage of officials to run events.

“It has been obvious to me during the first half of the season that things are getting more and more stretched,” he declared. “Weekend schedules are being completed in some cases only because a small, dedicated group of people have been prepared to take on extra duties. But they are tired and in some cases reluctant to carry on in the same way.

“The League is struggling for officials in all areas – particularly, event managers and table officials, but also referees and delegates. We will do our very best to get through phase two of the season. But the fact remains that the current model is not sustainable and solutions must be found.

“An easy option would be to reduce the workload by cutting divisions, which obviously no one will be keen to see. But the position is that serious and we will need the involvement of all member clubs as we try to find some answers.”
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The League committee debated the problem at its recent meeting, stressing the importance of maintaining standards in appointing officials whenever possible – but accepting that there would always be difficulties due to availability issues. Among suggestions was a training course for people interested in becoming event managers. Anyone willing to volunteer for any role should please contact League chairman David Andrews, dave.andrews@bwpl.org

A date for your diaries - on Saturday, 9 July, next year, BWPL will be holding a celebration to mark 60 years of league water polo in this country as well as the 35th aniversary of the foundation of the Women's National League.

It will take place at Parliament Hill Fields Lido, Gospel Oak, Hampstead Heath, and include a full programme of matches and a barbecue. It's hoped that all BWPL clubs, as well as former players, will give the event their full support. More details later.

Swim England confirmed today that it intends to host a 10-day tournament in 2022 featuring “teams from across the Commonwealth.”

For the British League, it will mean overcoming a problem – because the planned dates, between 25 November and 4 December, clash with a weekend earmarked for League competition and published some time ago in the League’s fixtures blueprint for 2022/23.

“Clearly, we will be very keen to do all we can to support such an important initiative,” said BWPL chairman David Andrews. “In anticipation of the tournament taking place, we have agreed to move the men’s Division 1 and women’s Division 3 programmes, due on 26/27 November, to accommodate it. I am sure such a change will be welcomed, offering the opportunity for everyone associated with BWPL to attend.”

Coventry’s Ian Elliot, Chair for the proposed new competition, said: “Hosting an event of this nature, particularly with the uncertainties of a global pandemic, is always going to be a challenge. Feasibility studies and initial planning are promising but not concluded.”
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Swim England says: “Approaches have been made to potential partners to put together a viable tournament, to confirm logistics and the event format, including a water polo legacy programme.”

Solihull stormed into the men’s Super 5s by taking five points from three matches on the final weekend of men’s Division 1 action at Coventry.

They finished today in style, beating Cheltenham 15-11. However, the key result in Super 5s terms happened on day one when they edged out Invicta 13-12. It made it highly likely that Invicta would drop to Championship 1, for the first time in three years.

The issue was quickly settled on day two. Invicta faced Manchester and actually led 3-0 early on. But any chance of a shock victory disappeared as they but were gradually overpowered by the undefeated champions, who won 17-10, including another five goals for Dan Paddon (5), plus strong contributions from Cam Richards (4) and Aron Ando (3).
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Competing in the Super 5s will be Manchester, Cheltenham, Sheffield, Solihull and Lancaster. Invicta, Welsh Wanderers and Polytechnic join the top five from Division 2 – Penguin, Caledonia, Sutton & Cheam, Exeter and Watford – in what should be an extremely competitive Championship 1.

Lancaster made their Super 5s place secure with a 19-11 victory over Welsh Wanderers, including a remarkable 13-goal haul by unstoppable Tom Curwen. 

Photos (Trevor Hyde):

​Above - Eyes shut . . . Invicta's James Spencer-Boyle gets in a shot against Solihull. Below -  Spilios Kaloudis on the attack for Manchester.

The withdrawal of St Andrews University from the final women’s Division 3 weekend at Northampton (see news item below) left Southampton with much enhanced prospects of retaining a top five place and moving forward to Championship 2 in the New Year.

They made doubly sure of safety today, beating Manchester Comets 6-4, including two goals each for Tamsyn Sciortino and Lilly Tomlins.

Penguin Emperors completed a hat-trick of wins when Rachel Bull (Photo: Trevor Hyde) netted five in an 11-7 victory over Cheltenham. Otter also collected maximum points from the Northampton weekend. The London rivals took the top two places, both with six wins and a draw from seven matches. 
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Southampton head for Championship 2 together with Otter Lutra, Penguin Emperors, Watford and Cheltenham. Also involved will be the Division 2 bottom three - Welsh Wanderers, Sheffield Stingrays and Birmingham. St Andrews, Liverpool Water Beatles and Manchester Comets miss the second phase of the season and will need to book a place for 2022/23 via next April’s qualification tournament.

St Andrews University were reluctantly forced to pull out of women's Division 3 fixtures at Northampton today after the university barred students from travel due to the red weather warning in Scotland.

It meant they missed taking on Cheltenham and Penguin Emperors - and were left stranded in the bottom three of the table. St Andrews will now miss the second phase of the season in the New Year and will need to progress via the qualification tournament next April if they wish to take part in 2022/23.

Meanwhile, Watford lost their undefeated record to Penguin Emperors, who won 6-2. Watford had opportunities in the second half of the match but were unable to get past goalkeeper Bex Thomas.

Later, Philippa Danielson scored seven as Otter Lutra outplayed Southampton 21-10.

It’s that time of year when BWPL receives contact from clubs interesting in applying to join the League. Already, there is no shortage of potential newcomers for the 2022/23 season.

A reminder that the deadline for applications – for men and women – is 31 December. Approved applicants will then be invited to take part in qualification tournaments, which are planned on 2/3 April next year at Haberdashers and Northampton respectively.

Deadline for existing teams to withdraw from the League is 31 January.
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For more information please contact League general secretary Chris Ducker, chris.ducker@bwpl.org. 

​Sutton & Cheam made sure of a top five place in men's Division 2 - and progress to Championship 1 - with a runaway 19-9 victory over Exeter today. Toby Hook scored nine of their goals.

The London club began the match needing at least a point to qualify. Defeat would have left them level on points with Watford and Portobello and no guarantee of survival.

In the event, the fifth spot went to Watford. They finished level on points with Portobello, but took priority by virtue of their 5-3 win against the Scots on day one at Habs.

​So teams progressing to Championship 1 will be Penguin - who withstood a strong challenge from Manchester Hawks to complete a full quota of seven wins - Caledonia, Sutton & Cheam, Exeter and Watford. Portobello, Manchester Hawks and Otter go to Championship 2.

Photos (Trevor Hyde): Above, Toby Hook. Below: Sutton's Ali Wakeling, blue cap, tackles Adrian Carrieri, of Exeter.

Castleford claimed the final place in men's Championship 2 after the most dramatic of last quarter finishes to their Division 3 clash with Croydon at Habs today.

The game decided which team would join undefeated Hucknall, Worthing, City of Bristol and Cheltenham Spartans in Championship 2 - and Croydon appeared in the box seat when they led 9-6 at the end of the third period. 

That sparked a tremendous Castleford rally in which four goals from Luke Franks and another from Matt Lawtey saw their team squeeze home 11-10.

Croydon drop to Championship 3 along with City of Birmingham and Durham Palatinates.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Nathan Brown prepares to fire home a penalty for City of Bristol during their victory against Birmingham in men's Division 3.

Penguin continue to dominate men's Division 2, defeating London rivals Sutton & Cheam 14-9 at Winchester today. It was their sixth win in six matches and featured hat-tricks by Andrea Tulli and James Salt.

Key issue this weekend is which teams will finish in the top five and qualify for Championship 1 in the New Year. 
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Watford boosted their hopes with a 12-8 win against bottom team Otter at Habs and then picked up a second win - 5-3 against Portobello. Back at Winchester, Manchester Hawks dominated the first two periods against Exeter, building a 12-5 lead on the way to a 17-13 victory over Exeter. Conor Lynch (4), Lewis Daly (4) and James Blenkinship (3) were the main scorers. 

​Sutton improved their top five hopes with a 12-5 victory against Manchester Hawks.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Goalkeeper Elliot McDaniell and the Penguin defence keep out a Sutton attack at Winchester.