New National Education Manager and National Pathway Manager announced

Water Polo Australia (WPA) is excited to announce Nicola Johnson as the National Pathways Manager and Sophie Moore as the new National Education Manager, who have joined our national team.

Sophie joined the team just prior to the 2020 KAP7 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships, and Nicola will be on board in the coming days.

Sophie's role is a maternity leave cover for Holly Tyrell while the National Pathways Manager is a new role.

Water Polo Australia Acting Chief Executive Officer Richard McInnes said Nicola and Sophie will help in building capacity within the sport at the grassroots level.

“We are excited to welcome Nicola and Sophie to WPA and know that the wealth of knowledge and experience they bring to the team will continue to help our sport grow,” McInnes said.

“These two roles form a vital part of our player, coach and official pathways programs and will work closely with our stakeholder groups from State Associations to Clubs as well as the State Institutes.

"WPA has long recognised the importance of developing our people at the coal face of our sport, that includes our coaches and referees. We need pathways and education to support people within the game to not only develop their skills but also to retain talent within the sport," he said.

Nicola’s role as National Pathways Manager will be responsible for working directly with States and Clubs to develop a strategy from grassroots through to senior representation, as well as the delivery of WPA FTEM and development of a skills curriculum. Additionally, she will play a key role in the implementation of an integrated national competitions calendar and in the recently announced review of the competitions guidelines for all national events.

Sophie will be responsible for WPA’s education, primarily supporting coach and referee development. She will be working to further enhance water polo's accreditation scheme and course development programs.