Board & CEO Update | October 2018

Organisational Governance

• Member Information Session held 21^st August 2018 – positive feedback on the initiative with a request for more frequent forums and updates.
• Annual General Meeting – 14^th November 2018. Notice of Meeting to be distributed in coming weeks.
• Recruitment for a Junior Talent Coach has commenced.
• Mel Rippon has transitioned to a new role as Head of Coach & Athlete Development
• Water Polo Australia has advertised for new CEO and anticipate that the commencement date will be January 2019.
• Australian Sport Commission is now known as Sport Australia and have released the new National Sport Plan with priorities in the areas of Participation, Performance, Integrity and Industry development.

Participation Growth

• Eight (8) Sporting Schools programs confirmed for delivery in Term 4
• Four (4) WPQ Development programs confirmed for delivery in Term 4 across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Cairns.

Capacity Development

• Water Polo Australia has released the next courses in the coach & referee education framework with foundation and advanced level course now available. Click here for access to the Learning Pool.
• Recognition of prior training process has also been released with details available here on the process to transition previous accreditation into the new framework.
• Mel Rippon will commence a new coach mentoring program with clubs/schools which will include support for coaches at training session and during competition games.
• WPQ will host 5 coaching seminars throughout the summer season that will focus on developing technical/tactical water polo knowledge and provide access to experts to upskill on some of the soft skills required when working with athletes and parents.

Marketing & Promotions

• The new Water Polo Queensland website has been launched with much improved functionality and integration with the new MemberPool system.
• Quarterly Board & CEO updates introduced

Competition & Events

• The implementation of the new digital membership system – the MemberPool has been very successful. Registrations opened on 1^st September and 2,000+ participants have already registered for the upcoming season.
• Cairns has been announced as the host city for the Queensland Country Championships in February 2019
• WPQ & Brisbane Water Polo have finalised a service level agreement for the 2018/19 season.
• The Brisbane Competition Future Models Working Group have finalised their deliberations and information will be sent to clubs/schools prior to the notice for the adjourned BWPI AGM

Performance & Pathways

• WPA announced a new single Queensland entity will compete in the Australian Water Polo League (AWL) with the two existing clubs suspending their licences for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. WPA is in the process of finalising the relevant documentation to complete this process.
• QAS subsequently announced ongoing financial support for a high-performance program in Queensland that will continue to be based at the QAS.
• Applications for QAS Women’s Head Coach closed on 7th September - the next stage of the recruitment process has now commenced.
• An expression of interest and trial process has been completed for those players seeking to be considered for the AWL program.
• Draft AWL draw has been circulated for comment to AWL clubs.
• A new Junior Talent Program will commence roll out in the coming weeks that will provide identified athletes targeted coaching emphasising high performance skills acquisition and also provide support through their stage of development and career and/or education pursuits.