New national water polo event coming to the Gold Coast

Water Polo Australia (WPA) is pleased to announce a new national event coming to the Gold Coast in 2020.

The inaugural WPA Open Water Polo Championships proudly supported by City of Gold Coast will comprise the Australian Country Championships, the re-introduction of the Australian Masters Championships, and also feature a social Exhibition Polo Fours tournament.

The event will be held across five-days on the Gold Coast from the 6 to 10 May 2020.

The event has been endorsed by the WPA Country Working Group and is supported by the WPA Sport Development Committee.

WPA Acting CEO Richard McInnes, said the Australian Open Water Polo Championships would create a festival of water polo on the Gold Coast.

“We’re excited to bring together and celebrate these popular water polo formats; specifically, the reprisal of Australian Masters Championships since it was last run in 2014 and the exhibition of the fast-growing format, Polo Fours,” McInnes said.

“This event presents a great opportunity for masters, country and social teams to come together on the Gold Coast for a huge week of water polo action. Having three different formats of water polo running at the same tournament will result in triple the atmosphere.” 

WPA is also pleased to announce the appointment of event company Actuex to manage the staging of the event.

Actuex General Manager Scott Nicholson said his company is excited to work with Water Polo Australia and bring the WPA Open Water Polo Championships to life.

“We are thrilled to be appointed as the first private company to host a Water Polo Australia event and build upon the existing suite of successful WPA tournaments. As passionate members of the water polo community, we are excited to deliver a first-class event for participants.”

More details regarding the event, included divisions and entry information will be released in coming months.