National Sanctioning Policy comes into effect today
Published Thu 01 Dec 2022
Water Polo Australia are pleased to introduce, for the first time, a National Sanctioning Policy, which will come into effect from December 1, 2022.
Following months of development the Policy will provide a consistent, nationwide framework for sanctioning Players, Coaches and Officials for Offenses committed during or related to a game of water polo.
Additionally, it will ensure the sport of water polo is played in a manner consistent with the Code of Conduct, other relevant Policies and upholds the behaviours identified in WPA’s Think.Act.Play guidelines.
The Policy is an updated and refined version of the National Sanctioning Guidelines which all WPA events have been played under since 2020. Those guidelines were adopted in part or full by most States during that time, however over the last six months WPA, the States and the Culture Innovation Panel, also agreed it was time to provide a consistent framework and process for sanctioning across the sport.
The key changes in the new policy are:
- The introduction of a National Tribunal* ensures that matters referred to an internal tribunal hearing can be heard in front of an independent panel, with competition managers now able to access and form panels from people outside of their state
- The National Tribunal will convene quarterly to discuss cases and a log of sanctions will be maintained across water polo, to assist in providing consistency
- All Internal Tribunal hearings will be conducted remotely
- Sanctions may now run across National, State and Club competitions and across playing and coaching roles. The nuances of this are described in detail in the Policy.
- The hearing and appeals process are consistent with the WPA Conduct and Disciplinary Policy and WPA Review and Appeals Policy, both of which are based on templated processes provided by the National Sports Tribunal:
* currently contains 12 members, with more yet to confirm.
