Twelve teams from across England plunged into the waters off Liverpool’s Historic Royal Albert Dock on Saturday for the second MANUP! Water Polo Festival of 2019.

The event saw eight men’s teams and four women’s teams play non-stop, back to back games in soaring summer temperatures in a fantastic outdoor location.

MANUP! Water Polo Co-founder Craig Stowell said teams from Oxford, Durham and Loughborough Universities travelled to the event to participate, joining City of Birmingham, Bridgefield, Liverpool, Warrington, Chester, Tyldesley and Castleford.

Liverpool club Bridgefield narrowly beat last year’s Salford Quays MANUP! Water Polo competition winners Castleford in the men’s final, with City of Liverpool victorious against Tyldesley in the women’s final.

Some of the young guns of English water polo dived into Nantwich Outdoor Pool in Cheshire, England, on Saturday for the MANUP! Junior Edition festival of open-air water polo.

The festival was the first in a series of three unique open-air events being run by MANUP! Water Polo this year. Packaworld is sponsoring the series by providing portable Water Polo Packagoals for all matches.

MANUP! Water Polo Co-founder Craig Stowell said the Nantwich event attracted 10 teams from across England with players aged 15 and under. Liverpool-based Bridgefield Water Polo Club finished in first place, beating City of Sheffield Water Polo Club in a hard-fought final.

“It was a great day out and a real showcase of the talented young players that are emerging in England," he said.

Dubai has emerged victorious in the United Arab Emirates' first ever international beach water polo tournament.

The pioneering event, hosted by the Dubai Camels Water Polo Club on 3-4 May, attracted hundreds of players and spectators to the sparkling waters off Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah artificial island. Six teams from the Middle East and as far away as Afghanistan competed over two days using an inflatable water polo field and goals provided by portable sports equipment provider Packaworld International.

Organiser and President of Dubai Camels Water Polo Club Peter Burger  said the event was the first of its kind in the UAE and was designed as a pilot for larger tournaments in the region in future. The home team from Dubai won the final on Saturday with a victory over fellow UAE team Abu Dhabi.

Packaworld was on show at Nelson Bay in Port Stephens, New South Wales this past weekend, with its inflatable water polo goals, fields and signage helping to make the final Beach Water Polo Fours event of the 2018/2019 season a success.

The event, which ran over two days, was attended by Packaworld Chief Executive Pete Roberts, who got involved in the Open Men’s Competition on the second day, donning a pair of hot pink budgie smugglers for the occasion.

“Everyone was having an absolute blast. Beach water polo is as much fun for the spectators as it is for the players – and it’s a lot of fun for the players!”

It wasn’t only players and spectators taking to the water during the event, with dolphins and pelicans adding to the thrill.

The sun was shining in Lower Hutt where over 140 people took part in the annual Tui Hurricanes Alumni golf tournament, held at Shandon Golf Course on 21 March.
 
Rugby greats and current stars including Christian Cullen, Cory Jane, Beauden Barrett, Brad Shields and Dane Coles took part in the event, which featured a sneak preview of Packaworld’s newest innovation – the world’s first full size, truly portable rugby post.

The Rugby Packapost was on display in front of the 18th hole, a par 3 hole which featured a ‘nearest the pin competition’, with the added challenge for players to fire tee shots through the uprights.

Hurricanes Alumni Board Member, and former Hurricane and Mike Russell says the idea for portable full-sized rugby posts that can be set up in minutes is ‘pretty cool’.
 
“I’m impressed someone has been able to create a full-size rugby post that you can transport around so easily,” Mr Russell says. “I can definitely see the potential for a product like this one to take off, especially in emerging rugby nations without established facilities.”

New Zealand signage and visual solutions company OneSource has been announced as a distributor for Packasign in New Zealand.

Produced by Packaworld, Packasign is an innovative signage solution which can double as a field surround. It protects sportspeople from injury, providing a soft surface that springs back into shape. It has featured at events such as the launch of Blind Football New Zealand.

OneSource Director Bernard Riley said Packasign provides a new, cost-effective advertising solution for events ranging from high-performance sport to school sports days and community events.

Friday's launch of New Zealand Blind Football in Auckland was the first event of its kind internationally to use inflatable advertising hoardings and goals.

These rigid inflatable products, Packasign and Packagoal, are produced by New Zealand sporting products supplier Packaworld as safe, portable alternatives to conventional goals and advertising hoardings composed from wood and steel.

Blind football is played in an enclosed arena, with a ball that emits an audible noise so blindfolded low-vision footballers can locate it. 

An inflatable advertising hoarding designed in New Zealand could significantly reduce the risk of injury at sports matches, says Peter Roberts, CEO of inflatable sporting products company Packaworld International Limited.

Mr Roberts said the risks posed by rigid wood and steel advertising hoardings were brought into the spotlight once more during the Warriors win over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Wellington on the weekend.

Kerrod Holland and Tui Lolohea collided with rigid signage placed metres from the scoring zone. Holland landed awkwardly after a backflip, and was lucky to escape injury despite showing some tenderness to his ankle.