Welcome to our May newsletter! As we head into the cooler months, there's plenty of excitement in the Water Polo NSW community. From championship updates to volunteer recognition. this edition is packed with news and opportunities. Read on to discover what's happening in our vibrant water polo community this month.

Dear Water Polo NSW Family,

I hope you all enjoyed a restful Easter surrounded by family and friends.

It’s been an exciting few weeks for our community, particularly with many NSW clubs travelling to Perth to compete in the Australian Youth Championships. A huge congratulations to all the teams who represented our state at this national event! NSW clubs were on fire — proudly making up three of the four teams (75%) who competed in the medal finals. A special shoutout to our medal-winning clubs, including: Hunter Hurricanes, Sydney University, Sydney Northern Beaches, UTS Balmain and UNSW Wests — a fantastic achievement! See below for full results. 👇🏻

Looking ahead, I’d like to wish the very best of luck to all athletes and coaches heading to the Australian Country Championships as part of the NSW Country Teams. We’re behind you all the way.

Here at the WPNSW office, we’ve been busily preparing for the upcoming 2025 Winter Metro Season. I’m thrilled to share that we’ve seen a remarkable 50% increase in team entries — growing from 100 teams in 2024 to 147 teams this year. It’s a clear sign that participation is on the rise, and our sport continues to thrive.

We’re also seeing strong growth in membership, with around 900 more members registered at this point in the season compared to the same time last year.

These milestones are a direct result of the incredible dedication and passion of our volunteers, club committees, and associations. Thank you for everything you do — this success belongs to you.

Yours in water polo,
Lucy

Notable results:

We're delighted to present our outstanding athletes who will represent NSW at the Australian Country Championships, taking place at Griffith University from May 7-10, 2025!

Congratulations to all selected athletes and coaches! 🎉 We wish both teams the very best of luck at the Championships! 💪

Relive the excitement of our recent Grand Finals! Club representatives can now request access to their dedicated photo folders by emailing enquiries@waterpolonsw.org.au. You can also relive all the action via our streaming on Water Polo NSW - YouTube.

Online safety for sporting clubs

A one-hour webinar for community sport club leaders covering types of online harm, how to deal with issues, safe online environments, common topics, and resources to help clubs.

Date: Wednesday 14 May 
Time: 1.30-2.30pm AEST 

Social media self-defence for elite and pathway athletes

A one-hour webinar for athletes and support staff covering types of online abuse, impacts, setting up social media accounts with safety in mind, how to deal with issues, and support resources (for 18 years and over). 

Date: Thursday 22 May 
Time: 1-2 pm AEST

📚 Important Update: Community Coaching Essential Skills Course

The Australian Sports Commission's CCES course is getting a refresh! Key changes include:

• New Format: The updated CCES course will now be a program which is the same as (the Table Officials course), with each module structured as a separate course. This mirrors the structure used in the recent Community Officiating Essential Skills course.
• Safeguarding Module Removed: The safeguarding module has been removed and will now be delivered via the Sport Integrity Australia – Safeguarding Children and Young People course.
• Completion Transfers: Learners who have completed modules in the current CCES course will receive equivalent completions in the new format. Full completions will transfer over to all seven modules and the full program.
• No Need to Retake: There is no new content, so learners will not be required to retake the CCES course if they’ve already completed it.
• New Certificates: Instead of one certificate, learners will now receive seven module awards and one program certificate.
• No Retake Functionality: Learners can review completed courses but will not receive a new completion date.

As we celebrate National Volunteer Week (19-25^th May), we're highlighting the incredible contribution of our volunteers. Access resources and recognition materials through Volunteering Australia to help celebrate your club's volunteers. 

Resources such as social media tiles, Instagram story templates, Facebook cover images available HERE. All you need to do to personalise it is download the resource, open in Canva and upload your own personal photos to the tile!

REMINDER: NSW Community Sports Awards 2025: Honoring Our Sporting Heroes 🏆

Nominations are now open for the prestigious NSW Community Sports Awards 2025, celebrating the extraordinary contributions of volunteers who power community sports across the state. The awards recognise excellence across 13 diverse categories, from coaching to administration.

The awards ceremony will take place at Commbank Stadium on Tuesday, 24 June 2025, showcasing the best of NSW's sporting community. Nominations close Monday, 12 May 2025.

Know someone making a difference in water polo? Visit the nomination portal to put forward your local sporting hero.

The sun and smiles were all out at Manly for the Sydney Stingers Beach Water Polo 4s tournament in March this year! Sydney Stingers hosted 16 teams and nearly 150 participants from 10 different clubs for a day of friendly and social competition at Manly Cove. Taking out the competitive division was The Up Dogs from Drummoyne and Watson's Bay. The Stingers own Sharknados were the winners of the recreation division.

Sydney Stingers is grateful to the hardworking volunteers who made the day possible, and looks forward to hosting another tournament next Summer.

Do you have a story to share?

Email enquiries@waterpolonsw.org.au - we'd love to hear from you!

📬 Stay Connected: We Want to Hear from You!

Got news to share? Questions on your mind? We're all ears!

🗣️ Speak Up:

• Share your water polo stories

• Ask us anything

• Provide valuable feedback

👉 Reach out easily: Via this quick form

We'll dive right in and get back to you as soon as possible!

Thanks for being part of our water polo community. See you poolside next month! 🤽‍♂️🤽‍♀️