Swimming with the fishes: water polo on the Great Barrier Reef's doorstep

Rockhampton Water Polo Association in Queensland is preparing to host one of Australia’s most unique and eye-catching beach water polo tournaments this weekend at Great Keppel Island, on the doorstep of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Polo in Paradise will bring players together in the shimmering waters off the island’s coast for two days of beach water polo action. High-quality portable water polo fields from Packaworld will be used to host the annual pilgrimage, which sees teams of four compete in a ‘Fast Fours’ format sometimes described as water polo’s equivalent of Rugby 7s.

Rockhampton Water Polo secretary Lois Harris says the event – now in its third year – raises awareness of water polo in a fun way by taking it to an awe-inspiring location.

“Where else can you play water polo, then go for a snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef? It is truly an amazing location and due to the geography of the island, there's always somewhere sheltered from the wind where we can play.”

Polo in Paradise has grown since its inception in 2021 and the association is adding a youth competition this year, hosted on a second portable Packaworld water polo field.

“We have a high school competition in Rockhampton and want to encourage more of those kids to get involved in other club events. Getting a second field means we can offer both high school and adult open mixed divisions this year,” Harris says.

She says several Queensland members of the Australian men’s and women’s country teams will be playing this year, along with dozens of other players who will make the trip to the idyllic island location.

One of the beauties of Packaworld’s inflatable water polo fields is that they make running events in exotic locations like Great Keppel Island much easier, Harris says. The ability to easily bring the game almost anywhere has sparked the association’s imagination and it is now considering other exciting locations where beach water polo could be hosted in future.

Packaworld chief executive Peter Roberts congratulated Rockhampton Water Polo Association for its imagination and relentless commitment to growing water polo.

“Our fields were created to make it possible for water polo to be played in new locations but seeing the unreal spots the game is now being taken is incredibly exciting. Great Keppel Island is up there as one of the most picturesque places the game has been played and we can’t wait to hear how it all goes this weekend,” Roberts said.

Packaworld’s inflatable water polo fields have previously been used at many other beach water polo events across Australia, including the Delfina Cottesloe Cup and H20Polo@theisland tournaments in Western Australia and Beach Water Polo Fours events in New South Wales.

Video: Polo in Paradise

Want to take part in this year’s Polo in Paradise? There’s still time to get a last-minute registration in before the 17 October registration deadline.

Find out more about our portable water polo fields and goals on our product page, or watch videos of the fields in action in our gallery.