Update to members - May 2020
Cú Chulainn AGM; Return to Water Roadmap; National Water Polo Conference; 2019/20 season
Cú Chulainn Annual General Meeting
The 2020 Cú Chulainn Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 9 June at 7.00pm.
The AGM will be conducted via zoom. All members will receive an invite via email with the relevant documentation attached on Tuesday 19 May.
If you do not receive an email invite, please contact a club officer or contact the secretary directly.
Return to Water Roadmap
Swim Ireland have published a ‘Return to Water Roadmap’. This document takes account of the ‘roadmaps’ published by the governments in Ireland.
The Swim Ireland Roadmap aims to support clubs and members to return to the water in a safe and timely manner and includes details of what may happen for each aquatic discipline at each phase. It will be supported by framework documents, which will provide greater detail and clarity, when possible.
The club will use the Swim Ireland Roadmap and any relevant framework documents as planning tools, but we are mindful that Swim Ireland describe the document as a “first draft” and draw attention to the “fluid and continuously evolving situation”. Significantly, while the Swim Ireland Roadmap provides dates, no dates have been provided in the roadmap published by the NI Executive.
We will update members with any changes to the Swim Ireland Roadmap when they occur.
National Water Polo Conference
The National Water Polo Conference took place on Saturday 16 May via webinar. The National Water Polo Committee proposed a range of motions relating to league structure, tournament rules, player eligibility, discipline, and complaints. 2 delegates participated on behalf of Cú Chulainn and voted on each of motions.
All the motions secured the required number of votes and were passed. A summary of the motions relating to leagues and cup competitions is below. We will share a link to the updated rulebook when it is published.
League Competitions
A new League structure is proposed for all levels which restructures the men’s leagues as two Divisions with 8 teams/clubs in Division 1, with each team naming 11 players. The named 11 players can only play in Division 1.
The remaining entries will form Division 2 in two groups. There will be 2 rounds with the top 3 in each group plus the u17 national squad playing off round 2 Tier 1 and the remainder play off Tier 2. National squad players will play for their respective clubs in matches against the national squad team.
Division 2 players may play Division 1 games but if they play 5 or more games in one season then they are classed as Division 1 players and can no longer compete in Division 2.
There will be NO under 19 leagues.
There will be an underage league 16/17, year of birth in line with international commitments.
Under 17 players who play Division 1 in men or women cannot play in the underage leagues but can play in underage cups.
The NWPC may establish an U14 league in line with international age group YOB.
Cup Competitions
The draw for the Irish Senior Cup Competitions is addressed to eliminate seeding of previous year league top four teams into designated groups but retains seeding in two draw pots with pot 1 being the pre-qualified top 4 league teams and pot 2 the qualifier teams.
New under 13 single gender cups are introduced in June, using a size 4 ball. The mixed under 13 cup remains and will be a Development Cup using a size 3 ball.
Completion of the 2019/20 National Leagues and Irish Cups
At the end of March, Swim Ireland and the National Water Polo Committee announced the closure of the 2019/2020 season until September 2020. The announcement was part of a broader statement that sees all aquatic activities suspended until the end of August 2020.
Arrangements are being put in place to complete the outstanding matches and tournaments at the beginning of the 2020/2021 season. These plans remain in place at present but are subject to the restrictions that inform the Swim Ireland Roadmap document.
St Mary's training resumes this coming Wednesday
St Mary's training starts back Wednesday 20 January!
Setanta coaches will return to St Mary's this coming Wednesday for U-14 school training.
Training takes place in the school pool from 3.30 to 4.30 and is open to Year 8 and Year 9 pupils who have an interest in swimming or play water polo.
Come on down and give it a go!
St Mary's year 8 training gets going!
Setanta and St Mary's team up for Year 8 water polo.
Former pupils Decky McKerr and Ronan McClean returned to St Mary's CBGS on the Glen Road to kick off the water polo season with an open session for Year 8's. Turn out was good, with a range of abilities and experience on show.
Training takes place after school on Wednesdays from 3.15 to 4.15. At the moment it's for Year 8's who are interested in taking up the sport or developing their skills but we'll be opening the session to the rest of the junior school in a few weeks.
If your son is at St Mary's, likes the water and is interested in trying a new sport get in touch!
Setanta set out stall at St Mary's CBGS open night
A great night at St Mary's open night promoting schools water polo!
As part of Setanta's new formed partnership with St Mary's CBGS, Setanta senior player and junior coach Ronan McClean attended the West Belfast Grammar school's first open night of the year to meet with parents and discuss school water polo.
Interest was high with a focus on St Mary's achievements over the past decade, the brilliant facilities at the pool and what Setanta are planning to offer the incoming pupils.
School sessions kick off on Wednesday 30th September with an open session for all interested first years. If you met with Ronan at St Mary's and would like to try out water polo before you sign up for St Mary's, come down to our junior sessions or give us a shout!