Water Polo New Zealand

15/06/2026

North Island’s Year 7 & 8 Winter Fest! 🤽❄️

What an awesome 4 days of water polo! A huge thank you to all coaches, managers, referees, pool controllers, whānau, and friends who helped make the tournament a success 🙌❤️

Congratulations to every team who competed, with a special shoutout to our medal winners! 🏅

A Grade
🥇 1st – Northcross A
🥈 2nd – Sacred Heart Int Sharks
🥉 3rd – Murrays Bay 8A1

B Grade
🥇 1st – Saint Kentigern Girls
🥈 2nd – Northcross B
🥉 3rd – Sacred Heart Int Snappers

C Grade
🥇 1st – St. Heliers Blue
🥈 2nd – Northcote Nightmares
🥉 3rd – Northcross C

A fantastic display of skill, teamwork, and sportsmanship across all grades. Well done to everyone involved! 🔥🏐💙

14/06/2026

With considerable sadness and respect WPNZ advises of the recent deaths of two former NZ women’s water polo representatives: Brenda Griffith and Lucy Sutherland (nee McGirr).

Brenda (Griffo to many) died aged 74 after a battle with a range of health issues. She was at the forefront in the 1970s when women’s water polo was reintroduced in NZ after a long break. Brenda quickly became an automatic selection in Auckland, NZ University and NZ teams. She was also an identity in surf lifesaving circles (and NZ representative) and champion in open water and masters swimming events.

Lucy died on 10 June, aged 52, due to an unexpected medical event. She was very active in Christchurch club and representative teams. Lucy represented NZ including games at the 1998 and 2001 FINA World Championships and at FINA World Cup. More recently she was revered as a kind and thoughtful coach of young water polo players. Lucy was also an identity and champion in surf lifesaving events and an outstanding netball player.

Brenda and Lucy were both ladies who made strong friendships and left permanent positive marks. They will be sorely missed.

11/06/2026

We’re excited to announce the U18 Women's team named to represent New Zealand at the 2026 World Aquatics Women’s U18 Water Polo Championships.

Tenerife, Spain, 16-23 August 2026. Congratulations to all selected athletes!

Read the full announcement on our website 🔗 https://nzwaterpolo.org.nz/latest-news/2026-world-aquatics-womens-u18-water-polo-championships-team-named

The road to Spain is set. Wishing the team all the best as they take on the world stage 🌿🇳🇿

08/06/2026

Applications for Water Polo New Zealand's Women’s High Performance Programme roles close today!

We're currently recruiting for:
👉 Women’s Campaign Operations Lead (0.5 FTE)
👉 Women’s Team Manager (0.5 FTE)

Supported through HPSNZ’s Women in High Performance Sport Residency programme, these roles offer a unique and exciting opportunity to contribute to the future of women’s water polo in New Zealand.

Read more and apply here:

Water Polo New Zealand (WPNZ), in partnership with High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), is pleased to announce two exciting opportunities within the women’s high performance programme:

04/06/2026

Water Polo New Zealand today provides an update regarding the Women’s Programme Head Coach.

Angie Winstanley-Smith has made the decision to step aside from her role as Head Coach. We thank Angie for her contribution to the programme over the past eight plus years.

“Her vision, commitment and belief in what this programme could achieve have transformed the Women’s programme and helped shape the future of our sport,” said Richard Shine, Acting Chair of Water Polo New Zealand.

“She leaves strong foundations for future success, with the team well positioned to challenge for Olympic qualification and a pipeline of exciting talent that will take the programme forward for many years to come,” said Jan Shearer, CEO of Water Polo New Zealand.

Read the full statement here 👇

Water Polo New Zealand confirms that Angie Winstanley-Smith has made the decision to step aside from her role as Head Coach of the Women’s programme. Her departure will take effect ahead of the team’s mid-July tour to China.

03/06/2026

Performance League Delivered! ✅

It was great to see the U16 World Champs Team, the U18 World Champs Squad and our Senior athletes competing alongside and against one another, creating an environment that challenged players, strengthened connections, and showcased the depth of talent within the programme 💪

The weekend provided a fantastic opportunity for high-level competition, learning, and growth as we continue building towards this year’s World Championships. 🌏🇳🇿

📸 Steen Bech

28/05/2026

Water Polo New Zealand (WPNZ), in partnership with High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), is excited to announce two vacancies within our Women’s High Performance Programme: Senior Women’s Squad Campaign Operations Lead & Senior Women’s Squad Team Manager.

Supported through HPSNZ’s Women in High Performance Sport Residency, these roles offer valuable experience, leadership development, mentoring, and networking opportunities within high performance sport.

Click here to read more👇

Water Polo New Zealand (WPNZ), in partnership with High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), is pleased to announce two exciting opportunities within the women’s high performance programme:

27/05/2026

We’re proud to announce the athletes selected to represent Aotearoa at the 2026 World Aquatics Men’s U16 Water Polo Championships in Zagreb, Croatia from August 3-9, 2026.

🔗 Full announcement: https://nzwaterpolo.org.nz/latest-news/new-zealand-team-named-for-the-2026-world-aquatics-mens-u16-water-polo-championships

A huge congratulations to everyone selected. We look forward to watching this team compete with pride, passion, and determination on the world stage 🇳🇿🖤

27/05/2026

We’re proud to announce the athletes selected to represent Aotearoa at the 2026 World Aquatics Women’s U16 Water Polo Championships in Zagreb, Croatia from July 25–31, 2026 🤽‍♀️🇳🇿

🔗 Full announcement: https://nzwaterpolo.org.nz/latest-news/new-zealand-team-named-for-the-2026-world-aquatics-womens-u16-water-polo-championships

The countdown to Croatia is on! Best of luck to the team as they prepare to represent New Zealand on the world stage 👊

26/05/2026

We were proud to celebrate the 2025 Water Polo New Zealand National Awards last weekend, recognising the incredible people, teams, and communities who continue to grow and strengthen our sport across Aotearoa 👏

Congratulations to all our winners, finalists, and nominees, and thank you for everything you do for water polo in New Zealand 🤽🇳🇿

🏆 Female Player of the Year
Bridget Layburn (North Harbour Water Polo)

🏆 Male Player of the Year
Ethan Carrington (Tauranga Water Polo)

🏆 Referee of the Year
Ryan Cheeseman (Atlantis Water Polo)

🏆 Coach of the Year
Bella Jacka (Marist Water Polo)

🏆 Outstanding Flippa Ball School
Pongakawa School

🏆 Rookie Referee of the Year
Levi Dobson (North Harbour Water Polo)

🏆 Rookie Coach of the Year
Lucas Wilson (Waitakere Water Polo)

🏆 Club of the Year
Canterbury Water Polo

🏆 Volunteer of the Year
Dee Bailey (North Harbour Water Polo)

🏆 Female Team of the Year
NZ FISU Women’s University Games Team

🏆 Male Team of the Year
Tauranga U21 Men’s