St Andrews University look set for a comfortable passage into women’s Division 3 in the new season after winning their four matches on day one of the qualification tournament at Liverpool.

The students hammered another Scottish team, Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth, 11-1, and then proved too good for near rivals Liverpool Water Beatles, winning 4-0 with goals by Lauren Charter (2), Kate Mackie and Amelia Downs.
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Manchester Comets finished the day with seven points from a possible eight, beating Solihull 7-3 thanks to goals from Fran Collings (3), Charlotte Pritchard (2) and Lilly Pryce (2). 

Watford and Welsh Wanderers will meet tomorrow at Watford Woodside pool (10.30) in a winner-takes-all decider for the one remaining place in men’s Division 1 at the start of the new season.

Wanderers set up the finale with a superb 11-9 victory over Sutton & Cheam, also at Watford, today.

Sutton went into the match knowing that a win or draw for them would guarantee promotion alongside Championship 1 winners Polytechnic and runners-up Cheltenham. But the Welsh side were having none of it, storming into a 5-1ead in the opening quarter with goals by Joe Jenkins-Delf, Charlie Hinder, Lewis Gilmour, Dan Laxton (Photo: Trevor Hyde) and Lloyd Pittick.

It was 8-4 to Wanderers after three periods. Sutton briefly narrowed the gap to 10-8 in the last before Matt Griffiths scored to ensure a Welsh triumph. 

Wanderers will progress to the top division – for the first time since 2010 – if they beat Watford, or tomorrow’s match is drawn. A Watford victory would put them in the top division for the first time as they would be equal on points with Wanderers – but take preference by winning the match between those sides.

Seven teams were battling for three places in women’s Division 3 next season when the qualification tournament opened in Liverpool today.

Close matches were inevitable. At the start, two teams that dropped out after phase one in 2019/20 – Liverpool Water Beatles and Manchester Comets – drew 3-3.

Later, the Comets left it late to defeat one of the new applicants, Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth, 6-5, claiming late goals by 14-year-old Charlotte Pritchard and Fran Collings.
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There were wins for two more new teams. Solihull beat Sunderland 8-2, with Emma Marshall notching a hat-trick, and St Andrew’s University cruised to a 10-3 victory over Durham Palatinates, including three goals from Carla Carrega.

Later St Andrew's easily defeated Solihull 7-1 while Durham needed a late goal from Sophie Orger to edge out ​Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth 7-6.

Olympic referee Frank Ohme has always acknowledged the invaluable experience he gained during his seasons as a BWPL referee (he still proudly wears the League shirt – as you will see in this photo from Tokyo).
 
Reffing at venues ranging from Walsall to Ponds Forge was, he says, “excellent preparation” for the big stage – which in Tokyo meant tackling huge intensity matches, including the women’s bronze medal clash between Hungary and Russia and the Hungary/Croatia men’s quarter-final.
 
Frank, who was based in Wales before he returned to his home country, Germany, has penned a fascinating report for BWPL in which he focuses on some of the key issues that arose at the Olympics – including FINA’s drive to make the sport more attractive and less physical.
 
Our thanks to Frank. And congratulations to him from all at BWPL for his Olympics success. It’s great to know that we can now claim a top world official as one of our own!
 
To read Frank’s full report, go to the Features page.
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If you’re from one of the teams due to play at Haberdashers’ School during the first phase of the season, please allow a little extra time for your journey - because:
 
Parking in front of the pool building is no longer practical due to building works.
 
Dagger Lane, which leads from the A41 to the school gates is closed. Travelling southbound along the A41, continue for another 150 metres to the large roundabout and take first exit (A411 Elstree Road), which runs by the reservoir; continue until taking the first exit on the left (Aldenham Road), leading to the junction of Dagger Lane close to the coach park entrance.

The open-air MANUP! Festival once again proved an outstanding success – even though 16 senior men’s and women’s teams had to endure horrible weather during matches at Salford Quays! Winners there were Sedgefield and City of Sheffield.
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Oxford won the competition at Liverpool’s Albert Dock, with Bridgefield as runners-up. Northampton triumphed in the event for mixed junior teams at Nantwich Lido.

Fixtures for phase one of the new season are now published on this website!

The women’s campaign makes a spectacular start with a full schedule of matches in Division 1 and 2 at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, 25/26 September. The men’s competition kicks off on 18/19 September when BWPL makes a return after several years’ absence to the K2 Crawley pool for a Division 4 programme.

There are games in men’s Division 1, 4 and 5 at Ponds Forge on 9/10 October while the men's Division 1 finale will see BWPL in action for the first time at the new Alan Higgs Centre Olympic pool, Coventry, 27/28 November.
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See fixtures page for all the details. Please note that some start times may change as pools update their operating procedures.

After cancellation of last year’s events due to Covid, the annual MANUP! men’s and women’s open air tournaments are all set to go again – and as many as 13 BWPL teams will be taking part.
 
The excitement begins at Liverpool’s Albert Dock (Gower Street) next Saturday, 31 July, followed by Media City, Salford Quays, on Saturday, 7 August (both noon starts – entry free for spectators). A junior competition takes place at Nantwich outdoor pool, 15 August.
 
In 2019, local clubs did their city proud at Albert Dock, with Bridgefield claiming the men’s title and City of Liverpool the women’s trophy. At Salford Quays, the winners were Castleford and City of Manchester. For more info, go to www.facebook.com/manupfestival.

Just SEVEN weeks to go before the new BWPL season kicks off! Never before has so much preparation been necessary behind the scenes.
 
We’re talking Covid-19, of course, and the huge impact it continues to have on our sport. You can be assured that the League has been very much on the ball in dealing with the situation – as far as is possible while the picture changes almost day by day.
 
Central to all current discussions is the League’s own Covid Group, headed up by Claire Walmsley, who is one of the clubs’ representatives on the main committee. The Group met again this week for further consideration of possible protocols and actions that might need to be in place – for all players, coaches and officials – should Covid become a problem as the season unfolds.
 
Inevitably, it’s very much a “what if?” debate. We cannot know the detail of what will happen. But, led by our Covid Group, the intention is that BWPL will be as prepared as it can be. The Group aims to take a fluid approach, relying at every step on advice/guidance from the Government and Swim England and, importantly, ensuring a speedy flow of information to all.
 
In the meantime, the League is in discussion with all pools regarding their specific protocols. Venues may differ. Again, it’s a matter of being prepared . . .
 

We’re really excited about the League’s project with the “We Play Sport” initiative, headed by ex-GB goal ace Adam Schofield, which aims to record and then stream all BWPL matches, starting this season.
 
The filming is done via mobile phones. And here’s where the League needs YOUR help.
 
To save investing in new phones, we are asking members of all clubs to hunt through desks and cupboards at home to find any unwanted mobile phones and then donate these to BWPL. The phones need to be either iPhone or Android, less than four years old and in working order – especially the camera video function. If you can assist, please email Mike Hesketh at mike.hesketh@bwpl.org.

Photo: Adam Schofield (white cap) in action during his days as a BWPL star.