Swimming Trust donation will provide new opportunities at all levels of water polo

The Swimming Trust has donated £6,000 to fund two key initiatives in the Swim England Water Polo Strategy 2020-25 – which will help provide new opportunities at all levels of the sport.

It has made its second donation to the sport in recent months to support the recently-published strategy, which was developed by the Swim England Water Polo Leadership Group

The money will be used to pay for projects in two of the strategy’s key pillars – widening participation and supporting officials.

A total of £4,500 will be used to make a series of short videos to promote mini-polo and water polo for children aged 8-14 on social media and to provide schools with grants to set up their own water polo clubs and teams.

The remaining £1,500 will fund refereeing workshops, hosted by the British Water Polo League.

These will help aspiring and existing referees to ensure that water polo is officiated correctly and consistently at all levels, and that developing players are best prepared for playing at the top level.

Toby King, chair of the Swim England Water Polo Leadership Group, said: “I am delighted that the Swimming Trust is supportive of our new strategy and funding these key initiatives.

“We hope that they will significantly accelerate our ability to recruit a larger, more diverse group of new players, while ensuring that the game is officiated consistently at all levels to help our aspiring competitors get used to the conditions they will experience at the highest level.

“Despite the recent imposition of the ‘Rule of Six’, under-18s are still allowed to train almost normally and play competitive matches, so this funding is particularly welcome at a difficult time.”

Happy to support strategy

The Swimming Trust is dedicated to delivering opportunities to enjoy aquatic sport throughout the UK.

Its secretary, Brian DeVal, said “We are very happy to be able to support the England Water Polo strategy to involve more people in this great sport.

“In particular, we are pleased that the recent rule changes mean it is now possible for children as young as eight to play for a school or club team in a water polo tournament.

“This is the second award made by the Swimming Trust to help the development of water polo in the past year. The first award was for the training of tutors to help develop water polo referees and other officials.

“Together these awards will provide new opportunities at all levels of the game.”

To find out more about the work of the Swimming Trust, which relies entirely on donations, and how to make a contribution, please email Brian at [email protected]