"Free Polo" Free Monthly Water Polo In 2022

Making Water Polo More Accessible

When we founded Drenched in 2016 we wanted to make Water Polo more accessible to young children. The traditional view of Water Polo was that you needed to play through a swimming club, become a competitive level swimmer and then at aged 11 or 12 you would pick up Water Polo.

Our model is different, we want to offer Water Polo via “mini polo”, introduce the game to the children and teach them to swim at the same time.

Five years on we’ve introduced Water Polo to thousands of children and we are now in a position to do more.

Starting in January 2022, using funding from the OneFamily, our own fund raising efforts and donating our time, we will start a free monthly Water Polo session. This is not a free taster, this is a free programme we hope children who do not usually have access to a swimming pool or a Water Polo offering can attend regularly each month.

Why are we offering these sessions?

We want all children to enjoy the swimming pool and the reality is, not every child can access swimming lessons. Moreover, the school curriculum only specifies a minimum of 6 weeks of swimming lessons each school year. The result of this is that many children simply cannot swim and we’re sure the pandemic has made this situation worse.

We’re also aware many swim schools and swimming clubs do not offer Water Polo, so we will also offer a session for existing swimmers, who may want to learn Water Polo, but do not have access. This opportunity will allow them to begin their Water Polo journey earlier than they might have in the past and get more children from different parts of Sussex playing the game.

About the sessions

There are two sessions available and total of 32 spots. As mentioned, we want the participants to attend monthly so we can improve their skills and give them the best possible chance of staying in the game.

Session 1 – Swimming lesson & mini polo in the shallow end (1 hour)

Criteria

Are in year 3 or 4
Currently pupils offered free school meals / pupil premium
Confident in water but do not need to be able to swim (we will teach them to swim)
Have an interested in swimming / balls games
Would be willing to attend a monthly session regularly

We have 16 spaces available and we hope to work with the same children each month so they develop their water confidence, skills and swimming – we will put on one session per month in 2022.

Session 2 – introduction to Water Polo for non-Water Polo playing clubs and schools

Criteria

Are aged 8 – 10 (born 2013 to 2011)
Currently attending a swimming school or club in Sussex
Confident and strong in deep water
Have an interest in Water Polo / balls games
Would be willing to attend a monthly session regularly

We have 16 spaces available.

The initial session times and dates are as follows:

Saturday 15th October
Saturday 12^th November
Saturday 17^th December

All sessions are at Windlesham House School near Findon and run from 6pm to 7pm in the shallow end.

To sign up for the next session please use this form: https://forms.gle/TakzuxTtxcNDZjcw8