Australia is set to make history this week with the women’s and men’s teams competing at the inaugural World Aquatics Water Polo 4×4 Open Championships in Dubrovnik, Croatia from 31 August to 6 September.
The championships will mark the first-ever global showcase of Water Polo 4×4, the sport’s newest format designed to bring a faster, more dynamic style of water polo to the international stage.
Featuring four players per team, a smaller playing area and quicker transitions, the format offers a fresh take on traditional water polo while creating new opportunities to grow and broaden the sport’s reach.
Australia will be represented by eight athletes in each of the women’s and men’s competitions, with the teams coached by Scott Nicholson, Petar Trbojevic and Debbie Watson.
The competition will take place in Dubrovnik’s historic Old Port, with the tournament beginning with a preliminary group phase before progressing to knockout and classification matches. Australia’s men will face Malta, Saudi Arabia, Montenegro and the United States during the group stage, while the Australian women will take on Greece, South Africa, Spain and Türkiye.
With the inaugural championships bringing together teams from around the world, the tournament will provide Australia with its first opportunity to test itself in the new 4×4 format on the global stage.
Watch the matches from the historic event live and on demand via World Aquatics YouTube channel. To follow schedule and results, click here.
Australian Fixtures
Monday 31 August
Men’s – Australia v Malta at 9:10pm AEST
Women’s – Australia v Greece at 11:40pm AEST
Tuesday 1 September
Women’s – Australia v South Africa at 8:20pm AEST
Men’s – Australia v Saudi Arabia at 9:10pm AEST
Wednesday 2 September
Women’s – Australia v Spain at 10:00pm AEST
Thursday 3 September
Men’s – Australia v Montenegro at 2:10am AEST
Women’s – Australia v Turkiye at 10:00pm AEST
Friday 4 September
Men’s – Australia v United States of America at 12:30am AEST
To see the Australian teams for the tournament, click here.
