WPNSW April events round-up

April was a busy month for WPNSW and our athletes with the NSW Junior State Champs held at the Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, several NSW athletes in action for the Ord Minnet Aussie Stingers against the USA and plenty of exciting new events announced for May. Read on to find out more.

In April we hosted the 2024 NSW Junior State Championships across 9 days at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. The Water Polo NSW (WPNSW) event played host to 74 Teams, approximately 880 athletes, 280 games and included approximately 2,500 spectators. We were excited to see such a vibrance of activity and competition throughout the tournament.

A special congratulations must go to our division winners:

- 14&U Boys – Sydney University Lions

- 14&U Women – Sydney University Lions

- 16&U Boys - SNB Breakers

- 16&U Women - SNB Breakers

- 18&U Boys - Sydney University Lions

- 18&U Women - UTS Balmain Tigers

WPNSW would like to thank all of the volunteer officials who worked hard to referee all 280 matches led by Chief Official Gail Salter. In addition, we were fortunate to have a series of highly experienced technical delegates providing feedback to coaches and referees alike for the duration of the tournament. In a new initiate, WPNSW also hosted 6 interstate/international referees who attended the tournament in order to further develop their officiating expertise. We are thankful for the partnership with WPQLD, WPACT, WPSA and New Zealand Water Polo for providing these referees. Lastly we cannot forget the voice of water polo Mike Westdorp who was the commentator on the live stream for all finals.

In April we also announced the 2024 NSW Under 22 Col Smee Competition. This competition is to be held over 2 weekends in May, the Boys competition (3-5th May) and Women’s competition (10th-12th May) will be hosted at the Sutherland Leisure Centre in partnership with the ACU Cronulla Sharks. This event will provide an important opportunity to athletes, coaches and referees beyond those in junior competitions to engage with our sport.

WPNSW is excited to announce that in partnership with Water Polo Australia, NSW will play host to 3 official Test Matches between the Ord Minnett Australian Stingers and the Chinese National Team.

These test matches will provide our national teams with the perfect opportunity to continue their 2024 Paris Olympics preparations. We are also fortunate to have NSW member Nick Hodgers who will be refereeing at the Paris Olympics to officiate the test matches. WPNSW has worked hard to ensure these test matches can be accessed by all participants and the wider community, as such, these matches will be provided free of charge. Pool entry may be payable at some venues.

Test match details are as follows:

- Sunday 12th May 3pm Sutherland Leisure Centre

 - Wednesday 15th May 8pm Ryde Aquatic Centre

- Friday 17th May 7:30pm Pymble Ladies College

We look forward to witnessing a sea of Green and Gold to support our Ord Minnett Australian Stingers as they prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.