The British Water Polo League came to a conclusion this weekend, with a new Champion in the men’s competition, and a familiar face triumphing in the women’s competition.
Like most leagues in Europe, the British Water Polo League (BWPL) is a competition with two phases. In the first part of the season, there are five ‘divisions’ for men and three ‘divisions’ for women*. Each division has eight teams. The teams play against each other in a round-robin format, with the top five teams from Division 1 going to the second part called the ‘Super Fives’, and the bottom three teams from Division 1 go to Championship 1 to play against the top five teams from Division 2. The same thing happens with the bottom three teams from Division 2 who go to Championship 2 to play against the top five teams from Division 3. As for the Super Fives, the top five qualified teams for both men and women play against each other twice in a round-robin format. The team with the most points at the end of the eight games are crowned champions. The top three teams from Championship 1 are promoted to Division 1 for the next season, with the same format applying for the top three teams in Championship 2, Championship 3 and Championship 4. *Down-scaling is in operation due to a lack of resources.
Mens Super 5s
London Polytechnic won the British Super 5s competition with a dramatic 11-10 victory over London rivals Penguin in a season-ending showdown.
This weekend, there were three teams that could potentially win it all: Manchester, Penguin, and Polytechnic. However, it was Poly who won both of their final two games, to seal a first Super 5s title, and their first top-flight honour since 1994.
Penguin were poised to win their first title since 1981 prior to Sunday’s championship game between the two London rivals, as they had held off reigning champions Manchester 13-12 the day before. However, Poly also triumphed on Saturday afternoon, beating Cheltenham by a score of 19-10, which meant that the champions of this season, one of the most exciting competitions in recent memory, would be decided in the London Derby on the final day.
Poly knew that the title would be theirs if they could somehow beat Penguin, while Penguin only needed a draw. As it transpired, it was Poly who won the derby by the skin of their teeth, 11-10, courtesy of a late effort from William de Vena.
Manchester, who have won the last four national titles, ended up finishing in a disappointing third. Cheltenham, participants of the Nordic League, had to settle for fourth, while Lancaster finished their Super Final campaign without tallying a single point.
Men’s Super 5s Standings
- Polytechnic – 8 – 12pts
- Penguin – 8 – 12pts
- Manchester – 8 – 11pts
- Cheltenham – 8 – 5pts
- Lancaster – 8 – 0pts
Women’s Super 5s
While the Manchester Men were unable to retain their title, the women’s team were more than capable of securing a fourth successive championship, winning their crucial encounter with Liverpool Lizards, 12-9. Manchester led from the get-go, with skipper Izzy Howe and former Sun Devil, Rosie Huck both finishing with four goals.
Reigning British Championship title holders, London Otter, finished the league in a respectable second-place, with Hucknall in third. Liverpool and Coventry both finished level on points (2), but the Lizards pipped Coventry to the fourth Champions Cup berth on goal difference (18-17).
Women’s Super 5s Standings
- Manchester – 8 – 16pts
- Otter – 8 – 11pts
- Hucknall – 8 – 9pts
- Liverpool Lizards – 8 – 2pts
- Coventry – 8 – 2pts
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