20/08/2026
Letโs keep building our awesome sport! ๐
Queensland Has the Pools, So Where Are the Water Polo Competitions?
Queensland has almost everything water polo could ask for.
An incredible climate, a strong swimming culture, aquatic centres scattered across the state, a rapidly growing population and an Olympic Games coming to Brisbane in 2032.
Yet one has to look at junior water polo in Queensland and ask a very simple question ?
Why does so much of our weekly junior competition still revolve around Brisbane?
Where is the established Saturday junior league on the Gold Coast? Where is it on the Sunshine Coast? What about Toowoomba and the major regional centres further north?
Water polo certainly exists in these areas. There are passionate clubs, volunteers, programs and regional tournaments doing important work.
But there is a big difference between having a water polo program and having a sustainable weekly junior competition where children represent their local clubs every Saturday throughout a season.
Look at what another Queensland sport has achieved.
Netball Queensland has more than 80 associations and over 300 clubs operating throughout the state. Its association network stretches from metropolitan Brisbane to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and Darling Downs, Wide Bay, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Mount Isa and numerous smaller regional communities.
And this isnโt simply a metropolitan sport with occasional regional representation.
Netball Queensland actively structures competition around its regions. Its 2026 Country Carnival in Mackay attracted 70 teams, approximately 800 players and 17 regional associations, while the 2026 Senior State Age in Townsville attracted 183 teams from 53 associations and more than 2,000 players.
So why couldnโt water polo begin thinking the same way?
Queensland isnโt short of pools.
The Gold Coast has a huge population and one of Australiaโs strongest aquatic cultures. The Sunshine Coast continues to grow rapidly. Toowoomba is a major regional city. Townsville and Cairns have long histories in aquatic sport.
Yet Brisbane remains the centre of gravity for regular junior water polo competition.
Perhaps thatโs the bigger conversation we should be having about participation.
Instead of worrying about whether an existing metropolitan club is becoming too large, why arenโt we creating more places for children to play?
Imagine viable Saturday competitions operating in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and regional Queensland, eventually feeding into genuine regional and state championships.
Thatโs how sporting ecosystems grow.
Netball Queensland describes a network of more than 80 associations, 300 clubs and over 100,000 participation opportunities annually.
Water polo obviously operates on a different scale and has different facility requirements.
But Queensland has something many water polo regions around the world would envy, weather, pools and an aquatic culture ideally suited to the sport.
And Brisbane 2032 is approaching.
So perhaps the question shouldnโt simply be how we manage the players and clubs we already have.
It should be:
Where are the next competitions? Where are the next clubs? And where are the next thousands of Queensland kids who could discover water polo?
Because genuine growth isnโt squeezing more children into the same competition.
Genuine growth is creating more competitions for them to play in.
