BWPL has received confirmation from Swim England of arrangements for national squad training in the second phase of the season on weekends earmarked for key League events. These are:

8/9 February (BWPL Super 5s, men and women): Training for men’s under-18 and under-20 squads. Other squads moved.

8/9 March (Men’s Championship 1 and 2 finale): Training for women’s under-18, under-20 and seniors. All male squads moved.
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5/6 April (BWPL qualification tournaments): All national squads training at Sandwell but Swim England happy to work with individual athletes to avoid a clash. 

With the three-year process of shrinking BWPL’s competitions to their current form now complete (leaving three divisions for men, two for women), the League is in a position to accept applications from potential new teams for the 2025/26 season.

A reminder that the closing date for applications is 31 December this year (see BWPL Rule 4).
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Successful applicants would be involved in qualification tournaments at the end of the current season.

Polytechnic struck the first blow in their annual battles in men's Division 1 with arch rivals and reigning champions City of Manchester, winning 12-10 at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today.

Caleb Simpson scored five as Poly eased to a 12-5 lead by the start of the final period. A late goals rush by Manchester was never likely to affect the result.

But it's Penguin who top the table after the opening weekend. A 13-8 victory over Cheltenham confirmed Penguin (their Sheffield team is pictured above) as the only team to take maximum points from their two games. Andre Savic, Dennis Linde and Tilemachos Pissas all scored twice as Cheltenham were outplayed 7-2 in the opening period. 

In one of the best games of the day, Sheffield built an early 7-2 lead against Watford but ended up under pressure to hold on to the points with a 17-15 win.

​Watford twice cut Sheffield's advantage to a single goal as Jarad Baker scored with a long shot to leave his side 12-11 in arrears; then Adam Heywood's neat goal brought Watford up to 13-12. It was only at that point that Sheffield broke clear again with strikes by Chris Armstrong, Connor Carpenter and Corrran Bradley.

​Earlier, Welsh Wanderers defeated Sutton & Cheam 15-7.

Sedgefield's long undefeated BWPL record ended when they were beaten 10-7 by Worthing in men's Division 2 at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today. Key to the Worthing success was a four-goal contribution in the second period  from George Wood (Photo: Trevor Hyde), putting his side in charge at 8-3.

Exeter's Kameron Powell was in great form against Caledonia, scoring nine - in a losing cause. The Scots bounced back from their day one defeat by Invicta with a 23-17 victory, Dominique Zahra (6), Murray Dickson (4) and Alex Harris (4) leading the scorers. 

Meanwhile, Invicta completed their second win of the weekend - 14-12 against Lancaster. Will Liddle and Jack Waller claimed five goals apiece.

​Skipper Ben Scott's six goals powered Portobello to a narrow 10-9 win over City of Bristol. The sides were locked at 9-9 in the final period until Dylan Hobman struck a winner for the Scots with just over a minute remaining.
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In Division 3, Rotherham Metro were pipped at the post by Otter after leading for much of the game. Late goals by Andrei Patemkin and Denes Csizsinszky earned Otter an 11-10 win. 

After their titanic battles last season, a penalty shoot-out decider was almost inevitable when Welsh Wanderers and Polytechnic clashed in men's Division 1 at Ponds Forge today.

The rivals battled to a 9-9 draw at full-time, Joe Jenkins-Delf claiming the final equaliser for Wanderers, his fourth of the match.
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The penalty shoot-out progressed nervously to 12-12. Wanderers skipper Dan Laxton then lined up a five-metre shot, which was saved by goalkeeper Adrien Touzot (pictured), preserving three points for the London club from a 13-12 win. Wanderers took one point as the shoot-out losers.

Penguin scored a remarkable nine goals in the second period against Sheffield on the way to a 13-11 win.

Cheltenham were in trouble early on against Watford, trailing 7-2 before reviving to 7-7 in the third period. By the start of the last, goals by Alistair Bruce (2), George Davies and Harrison Walsh had put Cheltenham firmly in charge at 11-7 and they eventually triumphed 12-10.

Champions City of Manchester eased to a 20-7 win against Sutton & Cheam. Eleftheios Chelioudakis (5), Joel Leighton (3) and Dan Paddon (3) led the scoring. 

Division 2 also produced a shoot-out finale - Sedgefield edged past City of Bristol 15-13 after a 9-9 finish in normal time. 

Invicta soon trailed 3-0 against Caledonia, also in Division 2, but the Scots didn't manage another goal until Invicta had recovered to lead 9-3. That sparked a brief Caledonia fightback to 9-6 before Invicta took charge again to win 11-7.  Worthing were too strong for Portobello, George Wood and Tumay Evcimen both netting three, while Andrei Patemkin scored six for Hucknall, 18-8 winners against Otter. 
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BWPL's close links with the Malta federation continued today as officials from the island were welcomed to the weekend event at Ponds Forge - where all three men's divisions are in action over two pitches.

Guests from Malta are delegate Ivan Sciriha and international referee Ronnie Spiteri. Their visit follows the recent appointment of three BWPL referees - Max Gerasimov, Jonny Richards and Simon Wiley - to top games in Malta.
 
Photo: A peaceful scene at Ponds Forge before the start of a busy day of matches.

BWPL has recorded its first penalty shoot-out! And what a nail-biting finale it provided in women’s Division 2 as Rotherham Metro edged out Liverpool Liver Birds 16-15.

The teams were deadlocked at 7-7 after normal time. Then, with goalkeepers Grace Kaye (Metro) and Jess Freeman (Liver Birds) between them saving seven five-metre shots, the game progressed to 15-15. Finally, Ellie Weatherill kept her cool and ended the marathon with the Rotherham winner. Rotherham took two points; Liverpool’s consolation was the single point awarded to losing teams in a shoot-out.

Watford, who completed their second victory of the weekend – 14-8 against Penguin Emperors – are benefiting from celebrity support from the bench. Coach Edi Brkovic’s assistant at Haberdashers was American double Olympic gold medallist Aria Fischer (pictured), who is in the UK hoping to develop a career as a screen writer in the television or film industry.

“I have retired from playing,” she said, “but I am really enjoying being part of the Watford coaching team.”

Exeter won 13-6 against Worthing, formerly Mid Sussex Marlins. Jessica Garrad led the scoring with five.
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Finally . . . is this a record? Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth outplayed a youthful Manchester Comets team 39-5, possibly the highest winning score in BWPL history?

Champions City of Manchester, Sheffield Sharks and Liverpool Lizards were the only teams to complete the first weekend of games in women’s Division 1 with two victories apiece.

Manchester, 11-7 winners against Hucknall, needed a five-goal flourish in the third period – scorers were Brooke Tafazolli (2), Izzy Howe (2) and Katy Cutler – to break some stubborn resistance by their opponents.
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Sheffield trailed 4-3 to Coventry middway through the second period but then took charge, Anna Motley (Photo: Trevor Hyde) and Caitlin Silk both scoring four in a 15-5 win.

Otter beat Tyldesley 14-8, Sarah Snyder adding five to her solo tally of ten goals in her team’s day one defeat by Sheffield, while Liverpool Lizards, trailing 8-6 early in the third period, eventually came through 11-9 against Cheltenham.

Another British League season is under way . . . and Otter’s Sarah Snyder (pictured) celebrated with a personal 10-goal spree as her team faced Sheffield Sharks in women’s Division 1 at the Jason Kenny Centre, Bolton.

Even that remarkable effort wasn’t sufficient to earn her team victory. Otter found themselves playing catch-up to Sheffield for much of the game, eventually cutting the Sheffield lead to 14-13 in the final period. It was at that point that Sheffield’s Caitlin Silk stepped in with her fifth goal – ensuring success  for her team at 15-13.

Cheltenham faced the stiffest possible test to launch their season – against champions City of Manchester. Manchester dominated from the start and won 20-6, including five goals from Brooke Tafazolli. Honor Grimes and Holly Toone both netted four for Tyldesley, 12-2 winners against Coventry.

The two teams that qualified for Division 2 via last season’s play-off both began with comfortable victories. Lottie Winstanly scored three for Watford in an 11-3 win against Exeter while Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth beat Rotherham Metro 15-10.

Fixtures for the first phase of the new season are now published – see Fixtures pages for all the details.

BWPL kicks off with both women’s divisions in action at Haberdashers and the Jason Kenny Centre, Bolton, on 21 and 22 September.

Then it’s the turn of the men, all three divisions playing at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, on 28 and 29 September – a busy weekend of 24 matches on two pitches.