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/

Leeds Sharks women’s team have withdrawn from the British League, leading to significant changes in the divisional set-up next season.

The Sharks were due to move up to Division 1 after finishing third in Championship 1 behind champions Hucknall and Sheffield Sharks. Their departure means unexpected promotion for the fourth-placed Championship 1 team, City of Birmingham, who will earn their first experience of top level competition. Other changes:
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Sheffield Stingrays, fourth in Championship 2, move up to Division 2. And Cheltenham, fourth in the end-of-season qualifying tournament, will now be invited to fill the vacancy in Division 3.

Where will your team be playing when the new BWPL season gets under way in September?

Venues for the first phase are now confirmed and available for clubs to view on the info page. Also detailed are the allocation of teams where matches in a division are split between north and south venues.