Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships

The Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships are the premiere competitions for young water polo players in Great Britain.

The Championships are contested in three different age groups: U15, U17 and U19.

Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships 2023 (U17 & U19)

Finals Weekend: 29 – 30 April 2023
Finals Venue: Sunderland Aquatics Centre

Early Rounds: U19 Boys – 4th  & 5th March
Early Rounds: U17 Boys – 11th March & 2nd April
Early Rounds: U19 Girls – 15th  & 16th April
Early Rounds: U17 Girls – 1st April

Competitors: 2023 Information can be viewed here
Spectators: 2023 Information can be viewed here

Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships (U15) – TBC

About the National Age Group Championships

The 2022 U15 titles went to City of Manchester in the girls’ event and West London Penguin in the boys’ competition:

• Click here to read a report from the Girls’ U15 Championships 2022.
• Click here to read a report from the Boys’ U15 Championships 2022.

The 2022 U17 and U19 titles went to City of Manchester, Worthing and Cheltenham respectively.

• View reports and results from 2022 events on our Champs News pages

What is the format of the competition?

Each team will have seven players on the pitch at one time – six outfield players and one goalkeeper – and a squad of up to 13 to rotate from (including two goalkeepers).

The aim is to score more goals than the opposition and each team has 30 seconds of possession to do this in. If they fail to shoot in that time, play passes to the other team.

The sport is very physical and there are a number of different fouls which are classed as ‘major’ or ‘minor’. A player is excluded from the field of play for 20 seconds every time they commit a ‘major’ foul.

And if one player commits three majors, they cannot be substituted back into play after serving their 20 second penalty.

• Click here to take a closer look at the rules of the game.