Nominations are now open for the following WA state teams. Follow the links for more information and to register.

• 15U Female
• 15U Male
• 17U Female
• 17U Male

If you wish to be considered for selection in the WA State Teams you must register by Friday 1 July.

Dear Water Polo players, officials, and stakeholders,  

It is good to be back in Perth following a much overdue family visit to the UK. I am sure, like many of  you, that COVID played havoc with planned family time, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity  to spend time with close relatives for the first time in 3 years. 

But now back to business.  

Go Go Polo 

No sport can function without the dedication and support of officials, and we are very fortunate to  have several very experienced as well as up and coming officials in our sport. Just like players and  coaches, our officials strive for excellence, and I acknowledge the hard work of everyone one involved  in facilitating and committing to professional development in officiating. 

It is my great pleasure to showcase James Hull, who was the recipient of the Gary Payne Perpetual  Trophy for Junior Referee Encouragement Award for 2021/22. I have had the pleasure of meeting Gary and would like to add my personal congratulations to him for this great achievement. James coordinated all PSA Table Officials, refereed for PSA, and undertook IGSSA pool coordination on behalf of WPWA in 2021/22 Season and refereed at both Senior State League and Junior  State League. James attended his first Australian Youth Championships in April 2022.

We look forward to seeing James’ future development as an Official in our sport.

Left to right. Gary Payne, James Hull and Liz Burman

Events on the Horizon!!!

Water Polo WA Charity Quiz Night 

I am very pleased to report that progress is being made regarding the above event. We will look to hold the event as a preseason curtain-raiser (date to be confirmed) and I will be meeting with Inclusion  Solutions within the next week or so to facilitate the necessary engagement with the charity sector.  My hope is that we can partner with a charity that delivers services for people living with a physical disability who could/would benefit from water-based activities. Initially, we would look to support the chosen charity partner through our quiz night, but in the long term we would hopefully provide access to programs as well. 

I have commenced the creation of a Profile, Fundraising and Events Committee to assist with the delivery of events and associated activities, but I would be interested to hear from you if you have experience in running quiz nights and/or would like to assist on the night. 

WPWA Annual Awards Night 

The WPWA Awards Night will be planned for the end of the season (again with the date still to be confirmed).  

I have made initial enquiries with Venues West (HBF Stadium) regarding suitable venues. As with the quiz night, if you are interested in getting involved on the night then please do reach out. 

WPWA Photo Polo 

Just a reminder to ask you to send in your photographs that speak to our values below. I am looking for photographs that you feel represent the value along with a short quote/statement that supports that photo. 

As an example, I might use the picture of James Hull with the quote, “Gary Payne Perpetual Trophy for  Junior Referee Encouragement Award for 2021/22 – Winner James Hull.” Celebrating excellence in officiating. Striving for and being the best that you can be. 

The values are listed below. 

UNITY INCLUSION TEAMWORK RESPECT EXCELLENCE 

I will engage with a panel from the Board to determine the winners across each value entry and these winning pictures will be embedded in our strategic plan on the website. 

The pictures will also be displayed in the WPWAI Offices for the year and then presented as awards at the Awards Night at the end of the year. 

This will become an annual photographic competition that will engage with our wider community,  provide recognition to entries and critically, bring our values to life with inspiring pictures and quotes. 

Please send your photograph and or short description as to why your picture shows a lived value to my e-mail address and please make the picture as hi-res as possible. 

PS I would love to receive some photographs from our kids!!

Performance Pathway Program Review 

Surveys have been conducted and interviews are being completed at present. I am aware that the survey may not have reached everyone. I will endeavour to seek feedback from as many people as possible and discuss with our consultant how best to incorporate additional information into the final report. Please be assured that the final report will be in the form of a  summary of key findings and recommendations that ultimately will be presented to the WPWA Board and key stakeholders for consideration.  

Staff 

Bruno Barna is currently on leave. Bruno has indicated that he will be checking and responding to emails, but please appreciate that he is spending time with family and may not be able to respond straight away. 

Reflection 

I have enjoyed a rewarding career in the sport and recreation field as well as the charity/not-for-profit sector. I have learned a great deal from some great coaches, players, and managers, but what I believe has been my greatest lesson learned, has been the process of reflection (thinking things through before acting). 

In the very fast-paced life that most people live today, decision-making often takes place without the time to reflect on the consequences. This does not mean that decisions made are necessarily wrong, but the risks certainly go up. 

“Reflect on actions and act on reflections” 

Making time for reflection will facilitate better decision making and positive outcomes. 

Kevin Knapp 

GM Water Polo WA

Dear Water Polo players, officials, and stakeholders,

Alright, so that came around very quickly!!

Several weeks into the role now and I have had the opportunity to attend two board meetings, meet with all our major stakeholders and even attend my first water polo training session (attended as a pool deck observer). What struck me was not only how hard the players were working in the pool, but more importantly the obvious fun that they were having and the positive engagement between the coach and the players. It will be my pleasure to come out to as many clubs and venues as possible to see the sport in action and to engage with players, coaches, officials, and parents.

Go Go Polo

This is a new segment that I will dedicate to showcasing stories and activities and or notable achievements. Please do feel free to send me any news that you would like to have considered for a mention.

State Country Games 27 – 30 April – Canberra (submitted by Gyula Vargyas – Coach)

Our very young men’s team finished at 6th place out of 8, against the most experienced teams and full of national league standard players.
We had 2 subs on the bench plus Scott our manager who also got the opportunity to play. The boys did very well, and they fought bravely. Our group chat (app) is still active, and this trip was a good start to build up a team for the future. We came back with great memories and in a really good mood!
I am looking forward to the next one!

Congratulations Russell McKinnon! 

Russell has recently been re-appointed to the FINA Media Committee that he has represented since 1998. FINA has also invited Russell to Budapest to lead the water polo coverage. This will be Russell’s 13th FINA World Champs! 

In asking after Russell’s background, he was able to share the following.

I moved to Perth in 1991 after being manager of the NZ men’s water polo team at the FINA World Champs. I was a member of the WAWPI Executive for 21 years and handled the media and advocated for regional associations. I formed and chaired the Referees’ Commission for the first seven years and relocated to Geraldton in late 2020. I was appointed to the FINA Press Commission in 1998 and it has become the FINA Media Committee, having served six terms. I was on an IOC water polo sub-committee for four years and since 1998 have been on the International Swimming Hall of Fame Honouree Selection Committee. I was appointed chairman last year and responsible for inducting members of all aquatic disciplines. My successful inductees include Tom Hoad and Bridgette Gusterson from WA. Following the Olympics last year (my sixth), I was appointed the sole water polo writer for FINA and in that capacity cover every FINA water polo match and write a weekly column on the FINA website. I am on the Geraldton WPA with refereeing my portfolio. I was made a life member of WPWAI in 2007. Budapest will be my 13^th FINA World Championships.

Many thanks for sharing Russell. These are very impressive credentials, and we are very fortunate to have you involved in our sport.

GWPA have staged an Open Space meeting to look at the future of the sport in the city. The first action is that masters water polo will start as a winter training/competition so as not to interfere with the already restricted pool space during summer. GWPA are also staging the WA Masters tournament on June 11-12.

Events on the Horizon!!

In the last newsletter, I made mention of Unity being a key focus for us moving forward.

Actions speak louder than words, so I will be looking to deliver on a few initiatives (with your help) make our sport more unified.

1. I will be looking to deliver an end of year WPWA Awards Night to celebrate achievements across the sport and to have some fun.
2. I will also be looking at the delivery of a social event (Quiz Night) but one that has a focus supporting at risk communities outside of our sport. Experience has shown me that a truly effective way to unify a group of people, is to commit to a cause external to their primary focus area. The idea will be to run a social event, to raise some funds and awareness for a chosen charity and then to extend that offer of support to members of the charity’s community to get involved in our sport. I will be focussing on charities that provide services for people living with a disability but who could get involved in water based activities.
3. In “bringing our values to life” I would like to invite you to send in photographs and a description that you feel best represents our values. The photographs should have a Water Polo relevance of some kind.

The values are listed below.

UNITY  INCLUSION       TEAMWORK     RESPECT           EXCELLENCE    

I will engage with a panel from the Board to determine the winners across each value entry and these winning pictures will be embedded in our strategic plan on the website.

The pictures will also be displayed in the WPWAI Offices for the year and then presented as awards at the Awards Night at the end of the year.

This will become an annual photographic competition that will engage with our wider community, provide recognition to entries and critically, bring our values to life with inspiring pictures and quotes.

Please send your photograph and or short description as to why your picture shows a lived value to my e mail address and please make the picture as hi res as possible.

PS I would love to receive some photographs from our kids!!

Performance Pathway Program Review

The review has commenced with our external consultant in the process of providing a detailed online questionnaire for completion by our players, parents, coaches, and stakeholders. The questionnaire will be complemented by several personal interviews to be conducted by the consultant. I will communicate to you again when the survey is due to go live with any updates regarding process. This is a very important opportunity to have your say and share with us what you feel is working very well and what you believe should be changed/improved.

Staff

Prior to coming on board as your new GM, I had arranged to go to the UK to see family that (like many of you) I have not been able to do for a couple of years due to COVID.

I will be away from 3 – 14 June but wanted to let you know that I will be in regular contact with the Board/Staff to deal with any pressing matters and to make sure projects are kept on track.

Western Australian State Teams

The process of confirming coaching appointments and the number of team entries is well under way, and with the great help from members of the Performance Pathway Program Management Committee, I hope to make the necessary announcements soon along with the trial process/dates etc and arrangements for player kit/apparel down the track.

Kevin Knapp

GM Water Polo WA

Dear Water Polo players, officials, and stakeholders, 

I have now been in the role as your new GM for a couple of weeks and wanted to start the process of providing you all with regular news updates to ensure you are as informed as possible regarding everything Water Polo in WA.

My intention will be to circulate a news update every fortnight that will be posted on our website but also via our social media platforms. Good communication between all of us is a key to delivering on our respective roles and responsibilities, and I will be working hard to facilitate this.

I will also be saving a spot for good news stories from clubs and associations on a rotation basis moving forward.

There are many new projects and initiatives currently underway and of course plenty of “business as usual”. 

Strategic Planning – Water Polo WA Values

The organisation has recently completed a strategic planning process and the WPWA Board have generated a Strategic Plan and associated Key Performable Measures to take us to 2025 and beyond.

I will be posting a summary of the plan and the Governance Structure on the website for your information in due course. The Governance structure will identify the supporting committees and working groups as well as staff that will work to deliver on the strategic objectives. “Living our values” is the key to everything and Unity within our sport the overriding focus.

Performance Pathway Program Review

We are currently undergoing a review of the Performance Pathway Program. This review is an important component of the Service Level Agreement between WPWAI, WPA, WAIS, the Northern and Southern Conferences and Clubs. The review will be used to evaluate the program and identify what elements have worked well and where improvements can be made. The findings from the review will initially be presented to members of the Performance Pathway Management Committee for consideration. As you can imagine, this process will take a little time and, in the meantime, we will need to proceed with existing processes and procedures.

Staff

You will have seen the post regarding my appointment along with a little background. Also, and very importantly, a recognition of the great work done by Sue Gliddon. 

Sharan Colliss resigned just before I started, but I have had the opportunity to meet with Sharan and follow up on several things including the role and where this fits best moving forward. 

Bruno Barna and Clare Barber are continuing in their respective roles in Competitions and Club Development, and I will be looking into some resources for Participation, Regional Development and Profile and Marketing. Participation will be a priority focus for me. There will be some changes in the roles and responsibilities, and I will communicate this to you so that you can direct your questions to the right place and receive timely and useful responses. Please do be mindful that Clare works two days a week and Bruno 3 days per week.

Australian Youth Championships (AYC)

WPWA has the honour and responsibility of hosting the AYC in January 2023.

This is a major event and one that we are committed to delivering to a very high standard. At this stage I will be engaging with the major stakeholders to clarify roles and responsibilities before necessarily forming a project team that can focus on the planning and delivery of the event.

Western Australian State Teams

I am aware of the need to clarify very quickly the processes around our state junior teams. Of course, we are playing a little bit of catch up with the Development Role at WPWA currently being vacant, but we will be providing some clarity to players, parents, and clubs as soon as possible. 

In closing, I wanted to say thank you for the welcome that I have received, and for the offers of assistance in delivering against our strategic objectives. It will require unity across the sport and a collaborative approach to see our goals for member growth, facility access, pathway development of players, coaches and officials and financial sustainability being realised.

Kevin Knapp

GM Water Polo WA

On behalf of the Board of WPWA it is my pleasure to introduce the new General Manager of Water Polo WA – Kevin Knapp.

Kevin has been appointed following careful deliberation and selection from a strong field of applicants.

Kevin brings over 15 years of executive-level management experience and skills to the role. He is a great fit for our sport, its current operations, and its strategic targets for the future.

With a high performance playing and coaching background and a career that includes managing sports programs at WAIS, Club Development with the Department of Sport and Recreation and community engagement in Local Government, Kevin has the breadth of experience to drive and deliver on the key focus areas for our sport.

Kevin has commenced in the role and will be working with Sue Gliddon who will hand over early next week.

Kevin is a big believer in living the values of an organisation and in striving for excellence, recognising that excellence can and should be measured in all of the key focus areas of an organisation.

Kevin can be contacted by email (generalmanager@waterpolowa.asn.au)

The Board also takes this opportunity to thank Sue Gliddon for her professionalism and dedication during her 2 years in the role.  Sue has achieved much over this period and under exceptionally trying circumstances with COVID which has impacted sports at all levels.  The Board wishes Sue all the best.

Please join me and the Board in making Kevin feel welcome.

The 2020/21 Annual Report has been released and is now available to download. For a full version of the Annual Report, please click on the image below.