Clubs & Communities

Try something new: Water Polo

Edinburgh based Struan Bailey moved into water polo as a natural progression through swimming to stay involved in the wider sport.

Learning to swim is a valuable life skill and one that can open the door to a lifetime of aquatic activities. So, if you’re looking for a fun way to get fit, make new friends, or try a sporting discipline that could take you all the way to the Olympics, water polo might be exactly what you’re looking for.

A natural fit for swimmers

Swimming provides one of the strongest possible foundations for water polo. The sport rewards good body position, efficient movement, and confidence in deep water—skills swimmers already possess. That’s why many swimmers enjoy the transition, combining familiar aquatic abilities with a fresh sense of challenge, play and purpose.

Struan Bailey is part of Scottish Swimming’s Young Ambassador programme and moved into water polo from as a natural progression through his swimming club to stay in the wider sport.

Struan explained:

“I’ve been part of Portobello for many years. It has built a great foundation for aquatics sport, and I’ve developed a strong circle of peers. After a number of years of swimming I found I wasn’t getting as much from it as a sport as I once did and started feeling a bit restless. With my club having a strong water polo section I thought I would try that, rather than give up swimming.

“Even though you are part of a club, swimming can feel like an individual sport, and water polo has provided those strong team connections and camaraderie.

“Portobello has been an amazing club for me, providing amazing coaching and a group of players who support each other across the age groups.

Water polo has also opened the door for Struan into international opportunities. He has trained in Greece and Germany with top teams, and has represented Scotland twice at the EU Nations Junior Men’s Cup, competing against some of the best water polo playing countries in the world.

The Scottish water polo scene

One of the biggest myths about water polo is that it’s only for the super fit or fiercely competitive. In reality, the sport offers something at every level.

There are around 16 clubs in Scotland with an active water polo section for all ages and abilities, male and female teams, and with a well-established competition calendar there are great opportunities for not only learning the basics of the sport but playing regular games in Scotland and across the UK, as well as international experience for those who progress quickly.

West Edinburgh Stingrays, for example, work collaboratively with active schools providing taster sessions as well as engaging in underrepresented communities to try water polo, while Portobello and Dunfermline Clubs have been dominant forces of the competitive game for a number of years putting many Scottish players on international teams.

Community and opportunity

Water polo isn’t just a sport, it’s a community and it thrives because people contribute in lots of different ways. Like many sports water polo relies on volunteers to help ensure clubs are well governed and games and tournaments run smoothly.

Struan not only plays water polo, he also volunteers in his club as a coach and an official, as does his mum, Dawn. She said,

“It’s a common story across sport, you take your child to their club, wait for them, and before you know it you are helping out! Water polo doesn’t have the same volume of individuals involved as swimming so there have been lots of opportunities to get involved and I’m now qualified as a Table Official and a Team Manager.

“While it’s great to see Struan enjoy his sport, I’ve also got a lot out of it. I’ve seen first-hand Portobello bringing families together across the club and Struan even recruited his younger brother to the sport! I have also been lucky enough to travel across Europe as Team Manager for the Scotland Junior Boys.”