Australia’s Great Barrier Reef became the stage for a world-first water polo event on Sunday, when members of the Australian women’s water polo team took to its warm tropical waters for a one-of-a-kind exhibition match.

The match was organised by Cairns Water Polo Club and Sunlover Reef Cruises, with special permission from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. It was played 47 km offshore alongside the Moore Reef Marine Base using a portable Packaworld water polo field and Water Polo Packagoals.

“It was a pretty spectacular day,” says Cairns Water Polo president Jesse O’Hara.

“The blue and green colours were just shining through the water, the reef was looking great and there were plenty of fish around.”

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.

It will soon be easier than ever before for Australians to get hold of high-quality portable sports equipment, thanks to an agreement between Packaworld International and Sydney warehousing and logistics business ACR Supply Partners.

The agreement will see Packaworld products stored on-shore in Sydney and shipped to Australian addresses direct from the ACR Supply Partners’ warehouse. As a result, shipping costs for Australians will be lower and delivery will be quicker.

“We’re on a mission to help bring the joy of sport to the more people,” says Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts.

“The past year has seen an increase in sales and interest in what we are doing, especially in the sport of water polo, so we’ve decided to make a bigger commitment to Australia. Storing our products in-country will make it easier than ever for Australian sports organisations, clubs and families to buy portable Packaworld sports equipment.”

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.

Some of New Zealand’s top water polo players plunged into Tauranga Harbour over the weekend for New Zealand’s first festival of ocean-based water polo.

The two-day Water Polo on the Waterfront event was played in full view of The Strand hospitality district, attracting thousands of spectators who enjoyed a weekend of water polo, music and delicious delicacies offered by on-site food stalls.

Event organiser Danny Kayes said the event saw 12 teams from around New Zealand competing in a five-a-side tournament played with eight-minute halves rather than the eight-minute quarters seen in conventional water polo.

“We wanted to create a fast-paced festival atmosphere that was fun and accessible, similar to that of Rugby 7s. The stormy conditions over the weekend made things challenging, but it made for good watching regardless.”

It’s been a challenging year at Waikato Water Polo Club. Its main playing venue at Waterworld in Hamilton, New Zealand, closed for refurbishment work, forcing the club to find alternative deep and shallow water venues for its training.

The loss of its main venue cast doubt over the club’s 2018 season and had organisers and players questioning how they would be able to keep club and school competitions running. It also posed a challenge for its representative teams, which needed to keep training for upcoming major tournaments, including the biennial Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Festival held in Auckland in July.

Club President Mark Harvey said the club searched for a new pool to run its training events but struggled to find a suitable venue that could store its existing three-metre-wide aluminium goals.