ELEVATE WATER POLO are passionate about elevating the game of water polo in South Africa. The mission is to grow and improve water polo in the country by making fundamental skills development and competing on the international stage more accessible to players and coaches.
The Elevate coaching programme is specifically designed by professionals who have coached and competed at the highest levels in the game, including the Olympics and World Championships. The dynamic programme is a combination of in-person, virtual and online skills development. Collectively the team at Elevate Water Polo bring decades of coaching experience and the ultimate goal is to ramp up the opportunities for players and coaches and to see South Africa operating closer to its potential in the global game.
In addition, Elevate Water Polo are partners with one of the world’s top water polo academies, the Barcelona International Water Polo Academy (BIWPA). BIWPA have been doing amazing work since their inception a decade ago, and Elevate would like to tap into their incredible knowledge and expertise to help elevate the game in South Africa, where popularity of the sport is growing, but opportunities to improve are limited.
Our Elevate Head Coach and former SA Captain, Duncan Woods, had this to say: “Elevate are relishing the opportunity to develop programmes to benefit South African Water Polo players and coaches. We are looking at new ways to enhance the great work that is being done at school level and building on it to widen the base of players and coaches at all levels, as well as improve the standard of play at the elite levels.”
The Elevate plan is to develop the game with 2 key objectives:
1. Widening the coach development base by supporting and growing schools programmes:
Elevate are the first provider in South Africa that has a localised and fully integrated online coach development programme covering a holistic approach to coaching, technical and tactical fundamentals and a strength and conditioning programme.
So, now any school or club located anywhere in the country can be putting their coaches through the fundamentals of water polo.
If you run a school or club and want to get your coaches accredited to a common baseline of water polo understanding, reach out by mailing: admin@elevatewaterpolo.co.za
2. Increase international exposure
Elevate are focusing on giving the 2005/6/7 age-groups the chance to put South Africa on the map in 2024 by competing in a highly respected international tournament, “The Next Generation Cup”, in Sabadell, Spain. As such, a highly competitive squad is being composed to attend a high performance camp in early May in order to select a squad and begin preparing for the tournament.
For more details on the Next Generation Cup, have a look at this link https://nextgencup.elevatewaterpolo.co.za/