2018/19 PRESIDENT’S REPORT.............................................................................2 CEO’S REPORT ..........................................................................................6 MESSAGE FROM SPORT AUSTRALIA ......................................................8 GOVERNANCE REFORM ...........................................................................9 OUR PARTNERS ......................................................................................10 ATHLETES’ COMMISSION .....................................................................11 HIGH PERFORMANCE REPORT .............................................................12 SPORT DEVELOPMENT ..........................................................................14 MEMBERSHIP .........................................................................................16 COMPETITIONS .......................................................................................18 VALE: BRUCE FALSON ...........................................................................19 VALE: LES KAY ........................................................................................19 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ................................................................20 INTERNATIONAL RESULTS ....................................................................22 BOARD COMPETENCY AND ATTRIBUTE MATRIX .................................26 DIRECTORS’ REPORT .............................................................................28 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ....................................................31 OFFICE BEARERS ...................................................................................44 HONOUR ROLL .......................................................................................45 1 PRESIDENT’S REPORT Welcome to the 2018-19 While we have delivered a surplus, WPA is still committed to Water Polo Australia (WPA) exploring opportunities for external revenues and efficiencies Annual Report. It has been to enable the most effective use of our members funds. a very full year where we Pleasingly WPA received revenues from new sources in FY2019 have experienced success including net new commercial revenues of some $300k. We on the international stage are confident of growing this number in 2020 with the plan to and significant steps towards enter into strong multi-year partnerships to support longer growing and strengthening water term planning and fiscal autonomy. polo in Australia. DEVELOPMENT In December 2018 Joelie This year was a year of consolidation of the Member Pool Chisholm joined WPA as the CEO. National Membership database and the Learning Pool Joelie has brought a wealth of education solution aimed at growing the capacity of the sport. sports experience through her The Member Pool has significantly improved the ability of the many roles from Senior Management to athlete to coach sport to analyze and report membership and participation and the board is most appreciative of her extensive work in trends and efficiently manage participants and competitions. delivering against the organisation’s strategic objectives. Having accredited coaches, referees and competition officials CORPORATE is an important capacity building and risk mitigation factor for the sport to ensure a safe and fair environment for all. This period has been focused on bringing our corporate We are pleased to report that we now have over 200 accredited functions towards best practice, and specifically ensuring officials, and this number continues to grow. that WPA’s financial management is of the standards that the The next stage in our introductory Flippaball development members and stakeholders expect. is supplying the programs with the appropriate tools to It is pleasing to be able to deliver a surplus of $323,000 for the deliver a successful experience for providers and participants 2019 Financial year which brings our members funds back to nationally. surplus. An additional $467,000 in high-performance funding was deliberately carried forward to fund the final year of the COMPETITION Tokyo 2020 campaign. This turnaround was led by Cara O’Neill 2019 saw the running of the inaugural Australian Youth Water and the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee (‘FRAC’), but could Polo Championships in Brisbane. This competition, with over not have been achieved without the significant efforts from all 2000 competitors held over five venues, is the largest water WPA staff. polo competition in the Southern Hemisphere. We had the added pleasure of hosting the Japanese Water Polo teams to contest two test matches with the Sharks and Stingers and enjoyed sold out attendance for those games. We thank all the competitors, families, friends, volunteers, clubs and staff who made this event a success. The support of Brisbane Marketing and Tourism and Events Queensland was crucial for the establishment of this annual event and we look forward to their continued support. The OVO Australian Waterpolo League (AWL) saw its 30th season. Without the dedication and investment of the AWL clubs this event would not be what it is. Our partnership with OVO Mobile allows us to stream the games around the world and this year we saw significant interest in both the AWL and the other games. Congratulations to the Women’s Champions Queensland Thunder and Men’s Champions UNSW Wests Magpies. In order to continually improve the competitions that we offer, WPA is undertaking an independently led review of the AWL in preparation for the 2021 season and beyond. 2 After the hiatus of the WPA National State Championships, Following the 2019 World Championship results, the AIS it will once again be held in 2020. This event will be a high prioritized its total funding towards the Aussie Stingers performance and selection event for the development of our which has meant less of the AIS funds are available for the Junior and youth teams and establishes a strong pathway Men’s Tokyo 2020 campaign. WPA is extremely proud of the competition for our aspiring athletes. Sharks’ results and confident of their progression towards WPA hosted the FINA World League Intercontinental Tokyo and advocated strongly on the program’s behalf to the Championships in Perth and we are appreciative of Eelco AIS. However, the AIS’ decision as to how funds are directed Uri’s leadership (also with regards the AYC above) and the according to its Investment Strategy were such that a shortfall support provided by Water Polo WA in delivering a successful exists in the optimum preparation for the Sharks. event. The competition welcomed 16 national teams across A fundraising campaign via the Australian Sports Foundation both genders and showcased a brilliant level of international has been initiated to support our Aussie Sharks achieve our competition culminating in Gold to our Sharks and Silver to shared goal of a podium performance and we are confident our Stingers in two closely fought finals against the USA. of strong community support along with commercial opportunities and at the time of writing some $90,000 has HIGH PERFORMANCE been raised. This is on top of other fundraising initiatives for It has been an extremely successful year for our Sharks our junior teams. and Stingers, and they have returned from many of their competitions with medals and inspirational performances. GOVERNANCE While not strictly in the 2019 Financial Year it would be remiss After the disappointing 2018 financial results, the Finance, not to mention the amazing performances of our Stingers, Risk and Audit Committee (FRAC) and the Board undertook Sharks and Beach teams at the 2019 World Championships. an extensive analysis of the organisation’s financial The Stingers and Beach teams brought home bronze and the processes, procedures, reporting and financial delegations Sharks achieved 6th place. This is the most successful World policy and implemented thorough controls to ensure the Championships for WPA since 1998 and sets us in good stead prudent financial management of WPA. Furthermore, in the for Tokyo 2020. recruitment of the new CEO, the Board placed particular emphasis on ensuring strong financial qualifications and The Sharks won Bronze and the Stinger finished in 5th place experience. at the World League Super-Finals in June 2019, after World Cup finishes of Silver for the Sharks and Bronze for the The outcome of this has been the establishment of a robust Stingers in 2018. The Sharks and Stingers also enjoyed Gold financial management framework for the organization and and Silver at the Intercontinental cup in Perth. Our national the positive 2019 financial results are a reflection of those teams boast some of the greatest players in the game and we efforts by the staff, the Board and FRAC. are extremely proud of their commitment in pursuit of success In 2018 the WPA Board established four additional for Australia and our entire water polo community. board committees to support the executive in pursuing WPA competed in the World Uni games where our men organizational excellence and ensuring appropriate finished 8th and our women 5th. Our youth teams also proudly board oversight for the best delivery of WPA’s Strategic contested the World Championships with the Men 8th and Objectives: the Women 4th. We must not forget the context of how many • Governance Committee nations play water polo and whilst we always strive for podium • High Performance Committee performances, we are extremely proud of all of our athletes • Sport Development Committee