National Water Polo Competitions

From school and university events right up to the Swim England National Age Group Championships, there are plenty of water polo competitions to enjoy watching, or competing in, across England. If you want to compete, you’ll need to join a club first.

If you are new to water polo find out more about key English national competitions below.

Or, head to our pre-filtered Events Calendar here for a full, up-to-date list of all water polo competitions, big or small.

Swim England Water Polo calendar

These calendars have been prepared to show the training camps, competitions, domestic and overseas for our Talent pathway squads. This includes our senior men and women, boys and girls (born 2005-2006). These four squads have been banded together so the boys will share the same weekend as each other and same for the girls.

Commencing in January, we introduce the new cohort onto the National Academy programme. The 2007-2008 born boys and girls, yet to be identified, will train once every two months culminating in August with Millfield Camp. Some dates and venues are still to be confirmed with our leisure providers.

View the calendar here.

Clubs also compete in regional and county water polo leagues. Head to your Swim England regional website to find out more.

Key national water polo competitions in England

Swim England National Age Group Championships

The Swim England National Age Group Championships are the pinnacle of competition for English water polo clubs. The Championships are run for both boys and girls in three age groups – U15s, U17s and U19s.

The early rounds of the competition depend on the number of entrants, but there is generally a preliminary round and then a qualification round leading to a finals weekend; which includes a plate competition for first round losers.

Find out more information about the Swim England National Age Group Water Polo Championships in our Major Events section.

British Water Polo League

The British Water Polo League is a series of national leagues for water polo clubs in England, Wales and Scotland.

The leagues take place over weekends throughout the Autumn and Winter and culminate in the Super Fives tournament.

  • Head to the BWPL website for general information, latest news, fixtures and results.

BUCS Championships

The British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Water Polo Championship final culminates a season stretching from October to March.

Throughout the season, teams compete in a league programme, with each league made up of four teams. Institutions either play fixtures on separate dates or combine all fixtures into a round robin tournament on a single day.

Each team’s position in the league pyramid determines whether they qualify for the Championship, Trophy or Shield knockout competitions.

The Championship semi-finals take place over one weekend with the winners progressing to the Championship Finals weekend which also includes the Trophy and Shield Finals.

  • Click here to visit the BUCS website and find out more.

ESSA

The English Schools’ Swimming Association has the latest news and results details plus upcoming championships for school events both national and international.

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