Aligned Leisure partnership with Waterpolo Australia drives improved participation

An exciting new partnership between Waterpolo Australia and Aligned Leisure has seen a spike in participation in one of the country's leading aquatic sports.

Waterpolo Australia (WPA) is the national governing body for the sport of water polo in Australia, charged with developing and educating water polo players, officials, coaches, and volunteers throughout Australia.

Aligned Leisure recently partnered with WPA to help broaden the services WPA can offer the community and in turn to provide Aligned Leisure customers with additional opportunities in the water. The concept is part of WPA's Project 10x Strategy - to expand its participation base 10-fold to over 200,000 participants from all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels over the next 10 years.

The partnership includes $20,000 in funding for equipment to support interactive water polo activities included within learn to swim programs and supporting the provision of Summer Splash Programs - social water polo programs for both adults and youth at Aligned Leisure centres.

Additionally, Aligned Leisure supported water polo in being added as a Commonwealth Games sport for the 2026 Victorian Games, leveraging Aligned Leisure managed facilities in the Albury/Wodonga area.

This partnership supports WPA by providing access to Aligned Leisure facilities for National and Junior Championships, Australian Water Polo League (AWL), and the Victorian Phoenix water polo team training venues.

To support WPA through this period of growth, Aligned Leisure will also contribute specialised membership modelling support to WPA management, alongside the inclusion of Aligned Leisure's Strategic Projects Manager, Jacqui O'Dwyer, on the WPA Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Steering Panel.

WPA CEO Richard McInnes said he was proud to announce the partnership with Aligned Leisure.

"Partnering with Aligned Leisure has already helped us to exceed initial Project 10x targets, which would not have been possible without their support," he said.

"With centres across Victoria and into New South Wales, we feel that Aligned Leisure has the reach to bring our game to more participants, which is what this is all about. We thank them very much for their support and look forward to seeing more people in the pool playing water polo."

Aligned Leisure CEO Shane Dunne added that he believes the partnership demonstrates how Aligned Leisure can drive community connection, while providing new, fun and safe opportunities for patrons.

"Our partnership with Water Polo Australia shows the purpose of who we are and how we can support local, state, and national sporting bodies across Australia through our partner networks," he said.

"This is an exciting time for all of us, with every conversation related to this partnership helping us uncover more opportunities to collaborate and drive improved community outcomes.

"We want to allow our customers and community members to have fun and enjoy the water, so exposing them to a new sport both competitively and socially is something we are thrilled to be able to do- while also providing excellent facilities for existing and elite players of the sport.

"We look forward to continuing to work with Water Polo Australia in the future and it benefitting people across our 41 facilities.”