National Strategic Framework for Water Polo in Australia aimed at growing the game over the decade

Water Polo Australia (WPA) together with the State Associations, is pleased to present the new National Strategic Framework (NSF) which unites the sport under a shared mission.

In a first for Water Polo in Australia, the sport is united under one strategic framework to guide the sport over the next decade. At the heart of this framework are participants, clubs and sustainability, with these three elements key to the delivery of the strategy across all levels of the sport.

The National Executive Group (NEG) which consists of WPA Senior Management and the State Executives, will work together and be responsible for managing the day-to-day delivery of the NSF collectively, supporting and sharing experience and knowledge to deliver on the agreed targets.

WPA CEO, Richard McInnes, said the 2030 vision “to make our sport, your sport” is focused on increasing the profile and awareness of Water Polo in Australia and connecting more of the community to this great Australian summer sport.

“The Water Polo Australia Board has led the development of the strategy working hand in hand with the National Steering Committee and respective State Steering Committees. In addition, WPA conducted several forums with the water polo community both face to face and virtually when COVID-19 hit during in 2020. It was imperative that the strategic framework was inclusive of all elements of the sport,” said McInnes.

“This is the first time Water Polo has delivered one strategic framework among the national and state organisations, with a common mission, vision, values and behaviours, providing us with a great opportunity to influence the future direction of water polo in Australia.

“There are five integrated strategic elements upon which the framework is built with each element providing clarity around the roles and responsibilities at Club, State and National level.

“The overarching framework provides sufficient flexibility to allow each State and Territory to apply strategies that suit their local environment while contributing to the overall mission and vision for water polo.

“We have set ambitious targets which we believe can be met with such a strong commitment from the WPA Board, State Boards as well as the National Executive Group.

“WPA would like to thank all the members and Clubs who took part in the surveys and various stakeholder engagement sessions, which helped inform the new national strategic framework,” he said.

WPA also released their Operational Plan through to June 2022, which is the first phase of the 10-year plan. This phase is focused on aligning and building capability and capacity to deliver significant growth moving forward.

As each of the State and Territory finalises their Operation Plans, they will be shared and made available on the WPA website.

Water Polo Queensland CEO, Melanie Woosnam, said that the new national strategic framework provides a valuable whole of sport solution.

“Having one whole of sport strategy is critical for water polo in Australia. It provides consistency with our approach and allows us to maximise our resource deployment across the sport to achieve greater outcomes.

“The engagement and collaboration between the States and Territories and WPA that has occurred in the development of the National Strategic Framework has been extremely pleasing. There exists a number of areas of best practice at various levels within the sport and the information and knowledge sharing that is occurring will assist in unlocking the real potential that exists within water polo across Australia.

“The 2030 targets are ambitious for the sport, however, with a greater clarity of the roles and responsibilities within the new framework and a desire to continue to engage and work together, this will assist in reducing duplication and work on delivering greater efficiencies with service delivery at all levels,” she said.

Water Polo Western Australia General Manager, Sue Gliddon, said that by having one plan for the sport, water polo can work towards common goals while at the same time offering tailored solutions within each region.

“The changing landscape within sport in Australia has never been more evident than this past year. The resilience of the sector is inspiring to other industries.

“The importance of working collectively and collaboratively cannot be underestimated. It benefits our players at grassroots through to the elite, the clubs and States delivering services and the volunteers which is such a big part of our sport.

“The forming a National Strategic Steering Group with members from respective States provided the opportunity to work together on a common goal whilst maintaining individualism,” she said.

For the full national strategic plan and WPA Operation Plan 2020-2022 – click here.