30/08/2026
If you have access to a pool and keen to try this in Gauteng. We are prepared to assist with the setup.
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Time to Take Out a Few Lanes and Put Up Some Goals
Walk into almost any public swimming pool in Australia and you will see the same thing, lane ropes stretching from one end to the other, ready for lap swimmers.
Now walk through almost any park in Australia and you will find basketball hoops, football posts, cricket nets, skate parks and open spaces where kids can simply turn up with their mates and play.
So why can’t we do the same for water polo?
Perhaps one of the simplest ways to grow our sport has been sitting in front of us all along. Put permanent or easily accessible water polo goals into public swimming pools and give kids somewhere to ‘play.’
Not everything in sport needs to begin with a structured program, registration form, selection process or organised training session. Sometimes a kid just needs a ball, a couple of mates and something to shoot at.
Basketball understands this brilliantly. Kids don’t need to join a club before they can fall in love with basketball. They can walk down to the local park, shoot hoops for an hour and gradually discover the game.
Water polo needs that same opportunity.
Imagine if aquatic centres around Australia dedicated even a small section of their pool at certain times to recreational water polo.
Two goals permanently available, a few balls and an invitation of ‘come and play.’
Kids would shoot goals. Swimmers would have a go after training. Brothers and sisters would jump in. Friends would challenge each other.
Before long, some of those kids might ask the most important question our sport could possibly hear, Where can I play water polo properly?
This is where Water Polo Australia, state associations, councils and aquatic centre operators could work together on a genuine participation initiative.
Instead of waiting for children to discover water polo, take water polo to where Australian children already swim.
Of course lap swimming is important, and pools have many competing users. This isn’t about removing every lane rope or disrupting existing programs. It is about challenging the assumption that every available metre of public pool space must always be configured for swimming laps.
Could one area become a water polo play zone during nominated recreational periods? Could new aquatic centres incorporate permanent goal fittings into their designs? Could councils and the sport jointly fund goals at community pools? Could regional pools become hubs where children can discover water polo without having to travel to a major club first?
These are relatively simple questions, but the answers could have an enormous impact.
Australia talks constantly about participation, pathways and building sporting legacies towards Brisbane 2032. Water polo should be part of that conversation.
Although we’ve heard many a story of local pools in Australia, not allowing Waterpolo to be played or any ball activities to be played due to their insurance not covering it…. If you know of a pool like this please comment below.
And perhaps growing the game doesn’t always require another committee, another pathway document or another high-performance program.
Perhaps sometimes it is much simpler.
Take out a couple of lane ropes.
Put in two goals.
Throw the kids a ball.
Then stand back and let them discover how much fun water polo can be.
