The League Committee met today (21st February) and discussed at length prospects for a resumption of matches next season.

A start in September remains the aspiration. But League chairman David Andrews says: “This would require the vaccination programme to have made significant progress and, to a large degree, restrictions to have been lifted.

“It would also rely on a reasonable expectation that restrictions would not be reintroduced, as we witnessed last autumn. Clearly, this all requires a crystal ball which we do not have but hopefully it will help clubs understand the thought processes we are going through.

“The Committee meet again in mid-April when we will review when best to seek our member clubs’ and teams’ commitment to the new season. In the meantime, we will be reviewing Swim England’s advice and guidance on a planned return to pools and competition as it appears.”

British water polo will not be benefiting from UK Sport financial support in the immediate future, it was revealed today.

British Swimming submitted an investment application and detailed strategic plan for the sport last September. This was done in partnership with the home nation governing bodies of England, Scotland and Wales, the wider polo community – including BWPL – and the British Water Polo Leadership Group.
British Swimming’s application was not successful – news described as “very disappointing” by the Leadership Group.

However, UK Sport did officially recognise the work done on the strategy and governance of the sport, most notably the collaborative approach taken by all concerned. The Leadership Group statement added: “We have been made aware that there is likely to be future funding support for sports in our position and we believe that the work done to date will put us in a strong position to successfully apply for this in due course. 
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“Although funding would have accelerated our development, we will continue to push forward in our ambition to develop the performance end of British Water Polo.”

And, finally, some positive news . . . ! The League Committee have agreed that, with the Covid-19 pandemic situation hopefully easing over the next few months, we can begin to plan for the start of a full 2021/22 season next September.

Sadly, the Champions Cup won’t be happening, as envisaged, in April/May. This is due to a variety of problems (not least, the current ban on training for over-18s). But it will re-emerge in 2022 as a super new prestige event featuring BWPL’S top clubs.

For all teams, it’s now a matter of keeping fingers firmly crossed that there will be a return to action next September.  The intention is that the qualification tournament and Championship 1 play-off take place in the early part of the month, followed by the full programme starting in late-September.
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A key date will be 1 May. The pandemic continues to have a calamitous impact on many water polo clubs and that date will be the withdrawal deadline should any current team not be in a position to tackle the new season. 1 May is also the deadline for applications from potential new clubs.

Last week, a green light to play again . . . and now? Wham! A new raft of Government coronavirus restrictions which once again will impact on water polo.

In his House of Commons statement yesterday, Boris Johnson said that the ‘rule of 6’ is being extended to indoor adult team sports – anyone aged 18 years and over.

To what extent will our sport be affected?

Swim England today clarified the situation for BWPL, confirming that sessions will be limited to training and playing in bubbles of six people only but that “the new rules state that organised indoor sport or exercise classes can take place in larger numbers, provided groups of more than six do not mix.

“This means six could play a three-versus-three game in one area of the pool, while another group of six do the same in a different part of the water.”
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The latest guidance does not apply to under-18 indoor team sports, which can carry on as before. Swim England is seeking further clarification on how this applies to mixed groups of athletes aged over 18 and under 18, but the current interpretation is that each group must be limited to six. It is also understood that coaches are not included in the six as long as they maintain social distancing. For details of today’s Swim England statement, go to https://www.swimming.org/waterpolo/clarity-coronavirus-restrictions/.

At its latest meeting yesterday (Sunday), the British League committee reluctantly accepted that the 2020/21 season must be abandoned due the continuing Covid-19 crisis. So where do we go from here?

Our clubs are obviously desperate to get back in action as soon as possible. And there has been considerable support for the idea of running an event of some kind.
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At this stage, the committee have agreed that a stand-alone event – in other words, one that doesn’t impact on promotion and relegation issues decided at the end of the 2019/20 campaign – could work well, perhaps in April and May. It’s certainly worth a try! But, of course, much will depend on the Covid-19 situation next Spring and whether strict guidelines outlined by Swim England and the Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport can be met.

Water polo received a welcome lifeline today when Swim England announced that clubs and players have been given the green light to return to training and competitive action.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has approved evidence submitted by Swim England at the beginning of this month. It means water polo is now on the approved list of sports allowed to restart in England following the easing of the coronavirus lockdown.

BWPL chairman David Andrews welcomed this “fantastic news”, adding that it’s “perfectly timed for the League’s next committee meeting on Sunday, when hopefully we can start working towards meaningful competition as early as the New Year.”

Swim England’s guidelines focus on areas such as social distancing during breaks and post-game, use of equipment, advice for match officials and coaches, injury treatment plus information for spectators. These will be used in conjunction with Swim England’s Returning to the Pool guidance which covers details on travel to training and matches, plus advice for medics.

George Wood, Swim England’s Sport Development Director, welcomed the Government announcement. “We’re thrilled water polo can now be played once again,” he said.

“I would like to thank Toby King and our Water Polo Leadership Group and our Head of Performance Operations, Rachel Bayley, for pushing forward this important piece of work. It will come as a welcome relief to our affiliated water polo clubs and players who have been desperate to enjoy the sport they love since pools were allowed to reopen.”

It’s now five long months since City of Manchester completed for a second year the double success of winning men’s and women’s Super 5s titles.

But what about the team medals? These weren’t handed out as usual at the end of the season, simply because the wretched Covid pandemic forced cancellation of the Super 5s finale. However, it’s never too late – as President Trevor Pledger (centre in the picture) proved this week with a belated presentation to team captains Joe O’Regan and Izzy Howe.
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Manchester players also earned the Super 5s top goal scorer awards – Dan Paddon and Annie Clapperton. These will be presented when – eventually – BWPL returns to action.

​Swim England say they are “absolutely committed” to getting water polo back in action as soon as possible following the Government publishing the Return to Recreational Team Sport Framework. Together with the SE Water Polo Leadership Group, detailed guidance is being drawn up on how the sport can be played safely.

George Wood, Swim England Sport Development Director, says he understands the frustrations of water polo players but the guidance had to be carefully developed to ensure everyone’s safety. “The past few months have been a whirlwind and it is difficult to believe that lockdown started when we were looking forward to the climax of the British Water Polo League season.”

Since then, a Swim England Review Group – including Mr Wood and Toby King, Swim England WP Leadership Group chair – have drawn up guidance for pools in consultation with Public Health England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and campaigned for facilities to open.

Mr Wood added: “We know there are issues with some pools remaining closed for financial reasons, meaning some clubs are not able to get back into the water just yet. However, we are doing everything we can to try and get those facilities the necessary support so all of our clubs and members can once again enjoy the sports they love.

“In the meantime, we are looking at the conditions by which ‘competitive recreational activity’ can take place – in particular, competitive training and match play where social distancing may need to be breached . . . As water polo is an indoor, contact sport, we will need to identify the mitigations that minimise Covid-19 transmission risk pre, during and post-game.”
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The British League were recently in contact with George Wood, offering our support in future negotiations and expressing member clubs’ concerns that “water polo at all levels could soon be left isolated without strong and knowledgeable dialogue on its behalf.”

The BWPL Committee met on 26 July and, as will have been expected, finally abandoned any hope of staging a reduced season starting in late October.

The target now is to begin in January, with an eight-division programme – five men’s, three women’s – and each team playing only seven matches.

However, the survey of clubs and League officials carried out by BWPL, revealed a high level of uncertainty regarding the reopening of pools – let alone, when clubs will be in a position to resume full training and matches. A significant number of teams are uncertain whether they will be ready to return in January.

Therefore, it was agreed that a further survey would be carried out in September, when the position for many should be clearer.
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Then, the Committee will meet again on 27 September to decide the next step. Should a January start prove impractical, another option would be to stage a stand-alone competition – not affecting promotion etc established after the 2019/20 season – for those able to take part. 

Many thanks to those of you who have already responded to the BWPL survey of clubs, which has been produced to gather information on how teams are situated in the light of the coronavirus pandemic regarding pool availabilities, training – as well as readiness for a delayed start to the 2020/21 season. Deadline for returns is next Friday, 24 July, at noon.

If your club has not received a link to the survey, please contact BWPL clubs’ rep Joanne Mountfield, joanne.mountfield@bwpl.org.