Water Polo

BLWP is one of Barts and The London's largest and most welcoming mixed clubs, offering training sessions, matches and socials for men and women. Most of the club have never played water polo before starting university, so our training caters to all abilities- both complete beginner and experienced players are very welcome! Throughout the year, we offer 2-3 training sessions a week, weekly Wednesday socials, a National and an International Tour, Alumni events, and the infamous Barts to The London Pub Crawl!

Taster Session

Giving Water Polo a go can sound like a daunting prospect, however, the vast majority of our players and members had never even heard of the sport before coming to university. Even if you have never played before, do not let that stop you from joining our Taster Session where we start with the basics - perfect for any beginners! If you have played before and are keen to continue to do so, we would love to welcome you into our club too!

Date: Thursday 26th September

Time: 20:30 –22:00

Location: Poplar Baths Leisure Centre and Gym, 170 E India Dock Road, Poplar, London E14 0ED.

Pickup: We will be meeting Freshers at Dawson and Floyer from 19:00pm and then heading to the pool together!

What will we be doing?

1. Swim and warm-up
2. Basic small group skills and rule explanations
3. Fun Matches

What should you bring?

• A swimming costume and a towel - goggles and shampoo are optional.

Training

Our normal training week consists of two pool sessions, a swim and a fitness session. It is very much up to you how many sessions you can/want to attend! During our pool sessions we practice basic skills, tactics and match play. The fitness and swimming sessions aim to improve strength and endurance in and out of the pool. We complete these as a group, however, there is also the option to complete these in your own time. 

For the first term our water polo training times are as follows:

• Wednesday 3-4pm, Poplar Baths Leisure Centre
• Thursday 8-10pm, Poplar Baths Leisure Centre

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Competitions

The BLWP men's and women's compete in BUCS in the South-Eastern Tier 1A. The men's and women's team play regular matches throughout the year. We also have two equal ability, mixed-gender that play in LUSL (the London league), which is a great league for developing your skills! Every member of the club can play in matches; we have no formal selection process for our teams, so it does not matter if you are a complete novice!

Recent BLWP achievements include:

• Men's BUCS 1A Champions 23/24
• LUSL Champions 23/24
• UH Champions 22-24
• BL Team of the Year 23/24
• BL Association Cup Winners 22

Socials

BLWP's social scene starts during Fresher's with Fresher's Tables and Curry. This is a great way to get integrated into the BLWP community and is your first introduction into being part of university sports! From this point on, we have weekly socials on Wednesday. These include a variety of team socials, activities and non-alcoholic socials. Previously we have been to activities such as axe throwing and trampolining. We have also held our own Come Dine With Me and BLWP Bake Off! One of the highlights of our social calendar is the Barts to The London Pub Crawl in January!

Our club has national and international tours to mystery locations each year, which run in November and around Easter respectively. BLWP tours genuinely are unmissable- they allow for extended time together and lasting friendships are often created on these trips! Past locations include Porto, Malaga, Bristol and Brighton.

Why some of our members love BLWP

Brandon (Third Year)

Having never played water polo before, joining BLWP was an unexpected start to my time at uni, but looking back, it's easily one of the best decisions I've made this year! Despite being apprehensive at first, I really enjoyed the taster session where the club helped introduce me to the sport. After a few sessions, I even got to play my first match! Right from the start, it was clear that everyone having a good time mattered so much more than winning. A wide variety of weekly socials allowed me to get to know a great group of people, and this has really helped me settle into uni life. I genuinely don’t think I would have had half as much fun this year if I hadn’t joined BLWP!

Kate (Fourth Year)

I joined water polo because I wanted to try a new sport! Having not swam much and never held a water polo ball this did not limit my journey with the club. Having a mixed-ability club is great for supporting beginners and helping to gain experience and advance other players by learning new skills and tactics. Aside from gaining better cardiovascular fitness, the club also is fantastic for meeting new people and making friends, as well as receiving academic support from peers in other years. Alongside training, the club offers regular drinking and non-drinking socials, which allows great integration into university life. I would recommend water polo to anyone looking to challenge themselves with a new sport, make new friends, and join a friendly community.

Isabel (Second Year)

Joining BLWP has been one of the best things I’ve ever done, I couldn’t imagine getting through first year without water polo. I was really nervous to join but everyone was incredibly welcoming and is just so lovely and fun. From international tour in Malaga to weekly swim training sessions, I have so many beautiful memories from last year. Water polo is quite a niche sport but there is no pressure to be a star player, it’s literally just about having a good time in the pool and drowning people (in the nicest way possible)! But if that doesn’t tempt you to join, at least come to a social and see how much fun you could have with us!!

Balint (Master's student)

I loved being part of BLWP last year. As a part time masters student I don't really get the usual 'university experience', but joining BLWP helped me feel part of the uni community. What stands out for me about BLWP is how well it is organized and the strength of the community they have built.

The team caters well for both experienced players and complete beginners and takes part in several competitions throughout the year to keep things exciting. Bring on the next season!

Alfie (Fourth Year)

As I had been studying from home during my first year, I was keen to meet people and take opportunities in my second year, and the decision to join BLWP was a fantastic one! From the beginning, the club is welcoming, and accommodating to people of all levels in the pool. I had not tried the sport before, but the club provides so many opportunities to train and get better. The socials are a massive highlight, happening every week and open to everyone! The main thing is that the people part of BLWP genuinely care about the club, and do all they can to make sure you get something out of it.

How to get involved

1. Join the Facebook group, or you can get in contact with any of our club committee members or social media platforms.
2. Attend the taster session in September or come along to any session - the first session is free!
3. Purchase your subs online.
4. Enjoy! Attend the training sessions and take part in matches.

Contact Details

Club Captain -  Helienke Yoong (waterpolo@bartslondon.com)

Women’s Captain - Kate Hollister

Men’s Captain - Dimitrios Papaoikonomou

Mixed Captain - Josie Revans

Mixed Captain - Eira Vowles 

Please also check out our Linktree here for links to our Instagram, Facebook and Taster Session form. For most up to date information, please also check out our Instagram @blwaterpolo