Juniors

About our juniors program

Our club and coaches are wholly committed to providing a safe, fair, and inclusive environment for children to learn and play water polo.

This is aligned with our peak bodies, Water Polo NSW and Water Polo Australia. For further information refer to Water Polo NSW - Integrity

STRUCTURE

This summer, our juniors program is split into 3 streams:

• U12s shallow end for all children aged 7 to 10, and any children aged 10 to 12 who are not competent to play in the deep end of the pool.
• U12s deep end for children aged 10 to 12 who are competent to play in the deep end of the pool. Eligibility of children aged younger than 10 will be assessed by coaches on a case-by-case basis.
• U14s - U16s deep end for children aged 13 to 16 who are competent to play in the deep end of the pool. Eligibility of children aged younger than 13 will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

All sessions are run at the Emma McKeon Pool, UOW UniActive, University of Wollongong.

❗Important: This is not a learn to swim program.

DATES & TIMES

COSTS

Registration fees consist of 3 parts:

• Capitation fee to our peak body, Water Polo NSW (WPNSW). This cost is set independently of the club.
• Capitation fee to our peak body, Water Polo Australia (WPA). This cost is set independently of the club.
• Registration fee to Illawarra Water Polo, this cost is set by the club to cover week-to-week expenses such as pool hire.

Registration fees for the Junior Summer 2025-2026 juniors program are therefore as follows:

From 6th October 2025 onwards

Please email info@illwp.com if you would like to join us for the second half of the season only (February-April 2026) so that we can discount the Illawarra component of the fees accordingly.

On 1st October 2025 we received confirmation that the WPNSW Board had endorsed creation of a new capitation fee, to come into effect at all affected clubs immediately. Unfortunately, this occurred after registrations for Junior Summer 2025-2026 had opened. Registrations received and paid prior to 6th October 2025 are unaffected by this change.

Prior to 6th October 2025

Registration fees ensure that all players are adequately insured. We will be enforcing a 'no pay, no play' policy.

Payment plans are available for the Illawarra registration fee - please email us at info@illwp.com

Note: If your child completes the 2 week trial and wants to keep on playing, you will need to upgrade them to a full season registration option. This upgrade will charge the Illawarra registration fee only - you will not need to pay the WPNSW & WPA capitation fee again.

Active and Creative Kids vouchers

Illawarra Water Polo is an approved provider for Active and Creative Kids vouchers. Vouchers must be applied during the online registration process.

Ready to register? 

Register and pay online here.

Questions?

Send us an email (info@illwp.com)