It needed a cliffhanger final game of the men’s Division 2 campaign at Bristol today to complete the top five, who will all head for Championship 1 in the New Year.

Invicta faced Exeter, who were already assured of progress to Championship 1, knowing that a draw would be good enough to ensure their place. They lost 15-14 – which meant that City of Bristol and Caledonia finished fourth and fifth and Invicta joined Southampton and Hucknall in Championship 2. Watford, who defeated Bristol 11-7 in their final match and finished top of the table, and Portobello were the other top five teams.

Division 2 had been fiercely competitive throughout – a total of eight drawn matches, including the first three in today’s final session.

Caledonia will be grateful for the priceless point they collected early in the day by drawing 12-12 with Invicta. At the start of the last period, Jack Waller’s third goal put Invicta 12-9 up only for Ben Fyfe and Chris Campbell to reply with man-up strikes. Alex Harris struck the equaliser just 55 seconds from the end.
​
Invicta led 4-1 early on against Exeter, but the Devon side went ahead for the first time at 9-8 at the end of the second period and retained a narrow advantage until the end. Reuben Powell scored seven of Exeter’s goals.

The line-up for the men’s Super 5s in the second half of the season was confirmed today when Sutton & Cheam defeated Sheffield 13-11 at Lancaster in their winner-takes-all battle for fifth place.

The other qualifiers are Welsh Wanderers, City of Manchester, Polytechnic and Cheltenham. Sheffield, Penguin and Lancaster drop to Championship 1, which also involves the top five from Division 2.

Sheffield scored first against Sutton but the London side never looked back after taking the lead in the first period. Four-goal Ali Wakeling (Photo: Trevor Hyde)  and Josh Luff (3) were their leading scorers.
​
In Division 2, Caledonia drew for the fourth time in seven games – 12-12 with Invicta. At the start of the last period, Jack Waller’s third goal put Invicta 12-9 up only for Ben Fyfe and Chris Campbell to reply with man-up goals. Alex Harris struck the equaliser just 55 seconds from the end. 

Penguin, runners-up in the men’s Super 5s last season, missed out on qualifying for this year’s competition when they crashed 14-7 to Welsh Wanderers in men’s Division 1 at Lancaster today.

Wanderers, on the other hand, will experience the elite competition for the first time after dropping just a single point so far – in a draw with Cheltenham – in an outstanding season. Matt Griffiths scored four in the latest win, although there were seven Welsh scorers in all, underlying the all-round strength of this fast-developing side.

City of Manchester and champions Polytechnic both won their first games at Lancaster, also ensuring their progress to the Super 5s once again. Manchester scored nine without reply in the final period in completing a 20-6 victory over Sheffield, which included five goals each for Dan Paddon and Joe O’Regan. There were four goals apiece for Tim Rezelman and Chris Brown (Photo: Trevor Hyde) in Poly’s 15-4 success against Lancaster.
​
The bottom three in Division 1 this season will drop to Championship 1 in phase two, facing the top five from Division 2. Watford will certainly be involved – they stayed top of Division 2 after hammering Caledonia 19-9 in their first game at Bristol today, Finlay Parnell netting six.

The home club, City of Bristol, boosted their chances of finishing in the leading five with a 16-13 win in the West derby against Exeter. Nathan Brown scored five. Jacob Graham and Jackson Mullins notched hat-tricks as Southampton beat Invicta 12-9. 

Former Great Britain captain Jeremy Birmingham, one of the finest players this country has produced in recent decades, has died following a long illness. This obituary has been supplied by Polytechnic, the club he represented with so much distinction for many seasons.

Jerry started his water polo journey with Beckenham SC; the following year saw him start at Loughborough University and at Polytechnic in the National League, as well as playing for GB at the World University Games in Mexico and the European Junior Championships, where he finished third top goal scorer (behind the German legend Hagen Stamm and Spain’s future superstar Manuel Estiarte). His GB senior debut happened that year and he went on to captain the national side from 1986 through to the European Championships in Sheffield in 1993, completing a 200-match international career.

Jerry’s love of water polo (and distaste for regular employment) took him far and wide. He played for Exiles in Malta in 1983, then in Australia, where he was leading scorer in the 1986 State Championships. Back home, he was a star of the Poly team that won seven National League titles between 1979 and 1993, plus numerous ASA and British Championships. He was a pivotal member of the GB 30+ Masters team at the 1992 World Masters in Indianapolis, where GB lost by a single goal to Hungary in the semi-final.

It was at that time that Jerry’s relationship with Sarah was beginning and it wasn’t long before the erstwhile confirmed bachelor began to see polo as secondary. Within a few years, daughter Tuesday and son Olly had appeared and polo was relegated to the back seat – but not for too long. Having moved to Gloucestershire, Jerry joined Cheltenham, helping the club win BWPL titles as player, then assistant coach.

However, in 2013 what had been an unexplained cough was diagnosed as something considerably more serious – stage 4 renal cancer. Years of painful surgical and unpleasant chemotherapy treatments followed but the unwavering spirit that Jerry had shown in the pool remained. He fought for far longer than could reasonably have been expected, displaying unbelievable stoicism in the face of such adversity. Sadly that fight has now been lost and Jerry passed away peacefully at home with his family around him on 27 November.

Jerry’s memorial takes place on Thursday 7 December at St John the Baptist Church, Chalford Hill, Stroud (GL6 8HN), 2pm, followed by a reception at Chalford Hill Sports & Social Club.

Photo: Jerry is fourth from left, back row, in this 1983 picture of the Exiles team in Malta.
​
Karol Farrugia, of the Maltese Federation, writes: Jerry was spotted by Mr Charles Griscti, an orthopedic surgeon living in the UK and a founder member of Exiles Sports Club. Together with Dr Gino Camilleri, the Club President, I travelled to London to watch Jerry playing for Poly before signing him for the summer season of 1983 on that same night. In and out of the water, Jerry was exemplary and was eyed by ‘scouters’ of the other local big water polo clubs. 

After considering numerous options, BWPL Committee have reached a decision on the vexed question of which club should occupy sixth place in men’s Division 3.

The unlucky team – meaning they miss phase two, but return in Division 3 next season – are Rotherham Metro. Rotherham were one of four that could have finished sixth before the final day of competition last Sunday, which, frustratingly, was abandoned due to closure of the Haberdashers pool for safety reasons.

The League, very much conscious of the principle that results should be decided in the water if at all possible, opted after lengthy debate to rearrange the key unplayed game between Cheltenham Spartans and Croydon Amphibians this coming Sunday, during the men’s Division 2 programme at Hengrove, Bristol.

Croydon declared their willingness to travel; Cheltenham, for very good reasons, were unable to raise a team and conceded the match. Therefore, Croydon were awarded the points, ensuring their safety but leaving Rotherham stranded below.
​
A BWPL Committee statement concludes: “We hope . . . all Division 3 teams will understand our difficult decisions.”

Rotherham Metro dodged the possibility of needing to contest the end-of-season qualification tournament with a dramatic 13-12 victory over Castleford in the final game of the men’s Division 3 campaign at East Manchester today.

Castleford replaced Rotherham in seventh place and will now have the option of joining bottom team Cheltenham Spartans in qualification against the top sides in Division 4 – City of Birmingham and Bridgefield. That competition will determine which pair go forward to Division 3 in 2024/25.

One more place in next season's Division 3 is reserved for this season's sixth-placed team.

Who will that be? We can’t know that at the moment due to the fact that games at Haberdashers did not take place today as a result of the pool being closed for safety reasons caused by an air handling problem.

It's a conundrum for League officials to resolve.

Rotherham led in the early stages against Castleford. By the third period the advantage was 7-4, then 11-7, quickly reduced to 11-9 through goals by Luke Franks and Alex Hall. The final quarter saw Rotherham improve their advantage to 13-10 – goals by Neil Swainson and Dan Hunt – before Franks replied again with 2.46 to go. Alex Hall’s final goal for Castleford arrived 16 seconds from the end.

Sedgefield’s successful Division 3 season ended with a 16-10 victory over Manchester Hawks. John Pratt’s five goals took his seven-match tally to a remarkable 42. 

Fixtures in men's Division 3 and 4 scheduled at Haberdashers tomorrow will not take place. The League received notice tonight that the pool has been closed due to an air handling problem. Engineers were called in but the facility was deemed unsafe for use. 

The League committee will  decide what happens regarding unplayed games. Matches at East Manchester tomorrow will go ahead as planned.

Any questions, please contact chris ducker, chris.ducker@bwpl.org, or Chris Stephens, chris.stephens@bwpl.org.

City of Birmingham battled to a 12-10 victory over Watford Saxons this afternoon in a match crucial to the outcome of men's Division 4. 
​
There were crunch games this weekend in men's Divisions 3 and 4 at venues nearly 200 miles apart - Haberdashers and East Manchester. Birmingham's success retained a 100 per cent record from five matches - and left them well placed to claim one of two places in the end-of-season qualification tournament, potentially involving the two bottom clubs in Division 3.

Birmingham were never able to shrug off a strong challenge from Watford until the last two minutes. Watford pulled level for the first time at 9-9 at the end of the third quarter and, briefly, were 10-9 up when Danny Davis scored from a man-up early in the fourth. The game progressed to 12-12 before Jason Culloo edged the Midlanders ahead with 1.44 to go. Watford goalkeeper Dan Moose then joined a Watford attack in a desperate attempt to fashion an equaliser - only for the move to break down, allowing Culloo to net again with 42 seconds left.

In Division 3, late goals by Alex Hall and Quinn Walker earned Castleford a 10-10 draw with Manchester Hawks.

Tyldesley recovered from 7-2 down to defeat Mid Sussex Marlins 12-10 and claim an all-important top five place in women’s Division at Liverpool today.

It meant they join City of Manchester, Exeter, Rotherham Metro and Liverpool Liver Birds in Championship 1 in the New Year. Marlins slipped to sixth, so they miss phase two but with the consolation of entry to Division 2 next season.

The bottom two teams, City of Bristol and Otter Lutra, have the option of taking part in the qualifying tournament in April involving the leading Division 3 teams, Watford and Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth. The top two there will fill the remaining places in Division 2 next season.

Tyldesley’s fightback against Marlins was led by Honor Grimes, who scored six as her team battled to draw level at 10-10 by the end of the third period. The only goals of the final quarter were scored by Amelia Crompton from a penalty and – 48 seconds from the end – by Kelsy Evans. Honor Grimes scored six, as did Holly Campbell for Marlins.
​
The leading five positions were actually still not confirmed until the very last game when a win for City of Bristol against Liverpool Liver Birds would have produced four teams – Tyldesley, Liverpool, MSM and Bristol - on six points, leaving the mathematicians to work out which of those would occupy fourth and fifth places! In the event, Liverpool won, but only just - 7-6. 

Day one of women’s Division 1 matches at Haberdashers confirmed the teams that will progress to the Super 5s. They are City of Manchester, the table-toppers with a 100 per cent record, Liverpool Lizards, Coventry, Sheffield Sharks and Otter.

Cheltenham, so close to defeating Otter (a goal nine seconds from the end by Niamh Moloney gave the London side a 15-14 win), together with Hucknall and Penguin Emperors go to Championship 1 in the second phase of the season.

Coventry won twice, beating Penguin 11-9 and then Cheltenham 16-8, while Manchester defeated Hucknall 13-3.
​
In Division 2 at Liverpool, Manchester Comets, Exeter and Rotherham Metro guaranteed themselves top five positions and progress to Championship 1. Two more places will be decided on the final day tomorrow.

A nail-biting weekend was in prospect in women’s Division 1 and 2 as teams battled to secure positions in phase two of the season in the New Year.

At Haberdashers, Super 5s places were the main target, with the sides finishing 6th, 7th and 8th in Division 1 destined for Championship 1, while matches in Division 2 at Liverpool decided the top five positions (progress to Championship 1) and left the bottom three missing out altogether on phase two.

Early results demonstrated how tense it would be. In Division 1, Otter, in danger of failing to qualify for the Super 5s for the first time in 13 years, were pushed all the way by Cheltenham before winning 15-14.

Cheltenham led 8-5 after two periods and edged ahead 14-12 in the final quarter with goals by Amelia Perkins and Bella Balzaretti. There were 56 seconds left when Niamh Moloney's goal levelled it at 14-14; and nine seconds when Moloney claimed the winner.
​
In Division 2, captain Honor Grimes scored the late goal that earned Tyldesley a 10-10 draw with Rotherham Metro. Liverpool Lizards and Manchester Comets also drew – 8-8. 

BWPL can now confirm that we will be staging matches at two brilliant new venues during phase two of the season.

On 2/3 March, the Super 5s will be heading for Sandwell Aquatics Centre in the West Midlands, the only new facility built to house the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

On 17/18 February, the League plan a weekend at the new Eton College Sports & Aquatics Centre, where an eight-lane, 25m pool has been built on the site of a dilapidated former outdoor pool. The building won a top award from the Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) earlier this year.
​
Divisional matches to be played there will be announced after the completion of phase one.

With the slimming down of BWPL gathering pace at the end of this season, the focus at women's Division 3 at Northampton today mainly concerned the battle for the top two places - earning the successful teams progress to the end-of-season play-off tournament against the bottom two in Division 2.

The impressive young Watford team had no difficulty in going forward. They top the table with a 100 per cent record, clocking up big wins over Welsh Wanderers (20-5) and Sheffield Stingrays (21-2) in their latest games. 

So the all-Scottish meeting of Kirkintilloch & Kilsyth and Caledonia was likely to be significant in the contest for the second play-off spot. K & K won 18-10, with Eugenia Arbus (7) and Carolina Ioannou (5) leading the scoring. 
​
It wasn't all straightforward - Caledonia recovered from 4-2 down to hold a brief 5-4 lead in the second period when Susan Johnstone scored with a powerful cross shot. But K & K's counterattacking proved decisive in the third period - they went from 8-6 to a commanding lead of 14-7 - and, irrespective of results on day two, ensured they will join Watford in the play-offs.

Solihull won the Midlands derby, striking late to edge out City of Birmingham 9-7.

The BWPL Committee have agreed a course of action following the non-playing of last weekend's men's Division 1 game between Polytechnic and City of Manchester at Aldershot.

The Manchester team arrived too late for the fixture after experiencing long delays on their journey south due to a motorway accident. 

Having considered various options the League rules suggest, the BWPL Committee agreed the match could not be rearranged and awarded the points to Polytechnic, with a 0-0 scoreline. 

Welsh Wanderers preserved their top-of-the-table unbeaten record in men’s Division 1 at Aldershot when a man-up goal in the very last second clinched a thrilling 16-15 victory over City of Sheffield.

Sheffield matched Wanderers blow for blow after scoring three quick goals in the second period to go from 9-6 down to 9-9. The game progressed to 13-13 at the start of the last, then 15-15 when Sheffield’s Corran Bradley fired an equaliser from a penalty with 19 seconds remaining. It was Ceri Griffiths who held his nerve to net the last-ditch winner.

Tim Rezelman (Photo: Trevor Hyde) scored five as champions Polytechnic won the London derby against Penguin 11-8. Penguin are without a win from five matches.

​City of Manchester trailed Sutton & Cheam 5-4 after two quarters but a six-goal blast in the third was enough to set up a 12-8 win. It was a similar story for Cheltenham, 5-3 down to Lancaster at the halfway point but then taking control in the final two periods to win 12-6. George Davies scored four. 

Watford jumped to the top of men’s Division 2 after completing a magnificent hat-trick of victories at Matlock.

After beating Hucknall on day one, they followed up with a 13-8 defeat of Southampton. Then, after seeing Exeter lose the only remaining 100 per cent record – the Devon side went down 11-7 to Caledonia – Watford battled through to a 12-10 win over another of the division’s strongest teams, Portobello.

Portobello were very much in the match after pulling up from 8-4 down in the second period to level at 10-10 in the last. Watford then grabbed the points with late goals by veteran Andy Holt (Photo: Trevor Hyde) and Jack Warman.

Earlier, Portobello were given a late scare by City of Bristol before winning 13-12. The Scots were coasting at 13-7 early in the final period, including three goals each for Davide Ingala, Matt Seward, Ben Scott and Giovanni Giunto but were then hit by a Bristol fightback that featured a hat-trick by Will Thompson.

Exeter were level with Caledonia at 4-4 after two periods, then three goals by Rory Nesbitt in the third put Caledonia on course to a 11-7 win.   

Sutton & Cheam shrugged off the disappointment of an 11-5 defeat by Welsh Wanderers to snatch a dramatic 10-9 victory over Penguin in men’s Division 1 at Aldershot.

Penguin led 9-7 early in the final period. But goals by Ali Wakeling and Ashley Castle brought Sutton level – and it was Toby Hook who hit the winner just 1.45 from the end.

The eagerly-awaited clash between champions Polytechnic and Manchester did not take place – Manchester arrived too late after suffering a long hold-up on their motorway journey. What will happen now? That’s a decision for the League committee to debate.

After drawing 10-10 with Penguin, Cheltenham were involved in a second 10-10 draw – against Welsh Wanderers. The Welsh side led 7-2 in the second quarter, but Cheltenham levelled at 7-7, then 9-9, only to fall behind again when Dan Laxton claimed his fifth goal for Wanderers.

The final equaliser, 42 seconds from the end, was scored by George Davies – his third goal of the action-packed final period.   
​
Sheffield scored six in the final quarter to ensure a 12-8 victory over Lancaster.

There’s nothing like a Scottish derby to whet the appetite – and the clash of Caledonia and Portobello in men’s Division 2 at Matlock produced an absolute thriller.

Caledonia were cruising in the early stages – 10-4 up in the second period. But, step by step, Portobello hauled themselves back into the match, eventually recovering from 12-9 down at the end of the third period to level it at 12-12 in the last with goals by Ben Sandford, Davide Ingala and Matt Seward.
​
Rory Nesbitt’s fourth goal edged Caledonia ahead again at 13-12 only for Portobello skipper Ben Scott to finish it off at 13-13 with an equaliser – just six seconds from the end.

Undefeated Exeter remain top after beating Southampton 17-13, including five goals by Reuben Powell.
​
James Spencer also scored five as Invicta beat City of Bristol 14-10. Hucknall, 11-9 winners against Caledonia earlier in the day, went down 9-6 to Watford in their second match. Finlay Parnell and Zac Corcoran both claimed hat-tricks for Watford.

Welsh Wanderers’ winning run in men’s Division 1 continued at Aldershot today when they defeated Sutton & Cheam 11-5. After an even start to the game, Wanderers took charge in the third period when goals by Joe Jenkins-Delf, Ceri Griffiths and Matt Griffiths (Photo: Trevor Hyde) opened up a 7-3 lead.

Man-up goals in the final seconds of the third quarter scored by Adam Legge and George Davies brought Cheltenham up to 9-9 against Penguin. Richard Waller edged Penguin in front in the last, also from a man-up chance, but a goal by James Salt earned Cheltenham a point at 10-10.

Sheffield scored six in the final period - by Corran Bradley (3), Chris Armstrong, Liam Humphreys and Arshia Keyghobadi - to ensure a 12-8 victory over Lancaster.

At Matlock, Exeter, led by five-goal Reuben Powell, defeated Southampton 17-13 to maintain the only 100 per cent record in men’s Division 2.
​
Caledonia recovered from 6-1 down to level at 9-9 in the final period against Hucknall, but Hucknall triumphed in the end 11-9 with goals by Sam Leveridge and Tom Ballaam. 

Hucknall's late charge earned their first win of the women's Division 1 campaign - 10-9 against Penguin Emperors.

Four goals by Catie du Toit took Penguin to a 9-6 lead early in the final period, only for Hucknall to stage a dramatic fightback, scoring through Lily Boneham, Cara Dunsbee and, finally, Emily Rickards, who netted twice.

Meanwhile, City of Manchester had no difficulty maintaining their winning run, defeating Cheltenham 24-5. Izzy Howe scored seven. Liverpool Lizards beat Otter 20-10, with Katie Brown (5), Lucy Mills (4) and Rachel Tibke (4) leading the scoring.