Gold Coast hosts inaugural Country, Beach and Masters Championships

The inaugural WPA Country, Masters and Beach Championships are won and day, after five thrilling days of competition on the Gold Coast.

The event brought together the three water polo communities for the first major water polo event players have participated in since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Water Polo Australia CEO, Richard McInnes, was excited to see water polo players from all over the country able to travel to the Gold Coast for the competition.

“We haven’t had an event since January 2020, and this is the first one we have actually been able to play,” said McInnes.

“It is so great to have everyone here on the Gold Coast. Everyone is safe and has had a great time. It’s really good to see.”

More than 500 players from Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia played over the five days of tough competition.

The Australian Masters Championships saw Victorian based women’s team “Victoria’s Secret” claiming the gold while the “Mantas” team from Queensland took out the men’s competition.

NSW had a clean sweep of the Australian Country Championships, defeating Queensland in the gold medal matches in both the men’s and women’s competition on Saturday evening.

Players then headed to Broadwater Parklands on Sunday for a day of Beach Water Polo Fours to cap off the tournament.

Queensland based teams dominated on home soil as the “G5’s” took out the morning women’s competition while the “Mermaids” won the mixed competition.

KAP7 General Manager, Scott Nicholson, said: “We were so thrilled to be able to work with Water Polo Australia to deliver this incredibly important event on the water polo calendar. The fantastic location, talented players and hot competition all combined to create a very special week of water polo.”