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MEN'S AND WOMEN'S LEAGUES AGREE HISTORIC MERGER
National Water Polo League and National Women's Polo League delegates agreed at meetings on 24 January to merge the competitions and launch a new organisation - the British Water Polo League.
A 10-strong shadow board - featuring five representatives from each league - has been formed to oversee the transition period leading to the historic first annual meeting of the BWPL in May.
The new name has been approved by the Board of British Swimming.
NWPL and NWWPL league programmes will continue to run independently in 2010 as already arranged. By September 2011, the new organisation will be fully integrated.
David Andrews, the NWPL's new chairman (see below), said: "Merger of the country's two premier league competitions represents a watershed for the sport. Throughout the lengthy discussions that took place in advance of this decision, the objective of all concerned has been to represent the best interests of member clubs and to help build a better future for British water polo."
Judi Clayton, secretary of the NWWPL, said: "We very much look forward to working with NWPL and pooling the strengths of both organisations. Merger is a vital step forward for water polo - it is important to demonstrate for the first time that the men's and women's games in the UK are working together in a single, open organisation."
Merger will mean the dissolution of the NWPL, which was formed in 1962 by eight clubs and now has 36 teams. The same applies to the NWWPL, which began in 1987 and has steadily expanded to feature 28 teams.
TOP DIVISION CUT TO EIGHT
Delegates at the National League annual meeting agreed a reorganisation plan that will see four main divisions each of eight clubs established after the 2010 season.
It will mean the bottom two teams in what is now a 10-club top men's division automatically dropping down a level in the new British Water Polo League.
Clubs finishing below the top 32 next season go down into a feeder division in 2011 that will also involve new applicants.
The precise details of how the 2011 programme will be organised - to include play-offs after 2010 - is to be decided after a consultation period during which clubs are invited to comment on the best way forward.
SUTTON STALWART TAKES OVER AS NWPL CHAIRMAN
David Andrews, the new chairman of the National League, has spent all his water polo career with the Sutton & Cheam club. In the early 1980s, he was a member of the Sutton team captained by international Phil Howden that twice won the National League title.
These days, David is well known to everyone associated with the NWPL as the hard-working competition co-ordinator. But he is also a past-chairman of the London Regional Water Polo Committee and a current member of the London League executive committee.
At Sutton, he is a club vice-president and has been chief water polo coach for the past ten years, focusing much of his efforts on development of the club's highly successful junior section.
David succeeds Steve Monico, who was chairman for eight years but has been associated with the NWPL for more than 30 years as a member of the Bedford club. Steve's retirement was marked by the award of NWPL life membership.
At the annual meeting, tributes were paid to Dr Mike Clark, who retired as treasurer after no less than 31 years in the job. He is succeeded by international referee Mike Jukes.
WEBSITE HITS THE HEIGHTS
The National League website received more than 1.4 million hits during 2009 - including 850,000 during the four-month season.
The busiest day - WITH 17,000 hits - was Monday, 2 November, which followed key Division One and Division Three weekends.
PENGUIN SURVIVE PLAY-OFF CHALLENGE
West London Penguin retained their place in the National League top flight when they defeated Division Two runners-up Polytechnic 13-7 in the play-off at Loughborough University (12 December).
But Birkenhead, founder members of the league in 1962, dropped into Division Three for the first time when they were beaten 11-8 in a play-off - also at Loughborough - against this season's Division Three runners-up, University of Bristol.
The University, under the experienced guidance of ex-GB coach Mark Taylor, will move up to Division Two for the first time. It was only a year ago that they earned promotion from Division Four by beating Ealing in a play-off.
For more details about the play-offs, click on the Division One, Two and Three news pages.
WARLEY TRIUMPH IN PLAY-OFF
Warley retained their Division Three status when they defeated Ealing - runners-up in Division Three - 19-14 in the play-off at Walsall (13 December).
Ealing led 13-12 at the start of the final period but were then hit by a seven-goal blitz by the Midlands side, including a hat-trick by Nick Covington, who scored a total of seven goals.
Exeter made sure of the Division Four title at Walsall (5/6 December) by winning all three matches in a championship "mini league" that also involved Ealing, Grantham and Worthing.
MBE FOR MAVIS
Congratulations to Mavis Bent, of Tyldesley Swimming and Water Polo Club, who was awarded the MBE in the 2010 Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to the community and swimming and water polo in Greater Manchester.
Mavis has been a Tyldesley member for 35 years and president since 1996. Her many achievements on behalf of Tyldesley include gaining coaching qualifications, taking the club into the National League in 1988 and fighting the closure of the local pool (twice, and on-going).
Without doubt, her first love is water polo and she has worked tirelessly at Tyldesley and in the region to promote the sport, sitting on committees and organising competitions throughout the North West.
Mavis is the first to acknowledge that she has had the support of many individuals past and present in order to achieve this prestigious honour - a testament to her modesty and outlook as an individual.
She first became involved when, like most parents, she took her children to the local swimming club to learn to swim. It wasn’t long before son Colin showed promise at water polo, culminating in England and GB junior international honours.
Always looking to the future, a good junior set-up was established throughout the club and ultimately more junior and senior international players were produced.
Since Tyldesley entered the National League, Mavis has missed only one AGM - through ill health. As other delegates will testify, she has been both supportive and vocal on numerous issues, not just on Tyldesley’s behalf but for the wider benefit of the water polo community and clubs.
Tyldesley team manager Alan Cowburn said: “If anyone epitomises what Tyldesley Swimming & Water Polo Club is about, it is Mavis. Like the rest of us, she isn’t always right, but you can’t discount either her wealth of experience or her passion for water polo.
"There is no doubt there are a lot of volunteers who,like Mavis, have put in many years of effort and are probably just as deserving an award. However, I believe everyone involved locally and nationally will be pleased to see someone involved with water polo being recognised in this way."
sutton WIN PROMOTION
National League founder members Sutton & Cheam will return to the top flight next season after clinching the Division Two title at the University of Bath (28/29 November).
Sutton needed three points at the start of the weekend to make sure of top spot and to leave Polytechnic in second place. With ex-Hungarian international Gergely Fulop in dazzling form - he contributed no less than 17 goals - they defeated Leeds 18-6 and Sheffield 11-5.
WATERFLY BACKS NWPL (july '09)
The National League is delighted to report that Waterfly will continue as the competition's ball sponsor during the 2009 season.
If you are about to order caps, costumes and other gear for the new campaign, don't forget that special deals are available from Waterfly using the NWPL code - click on the Waterfly page for details.
Ordering through the NWPL helps the League raise much-needed funds.
