Elevate Water Polo are set to break new ground this weekend as their men’s team travel to central Europe to compete in the prestigious finals of the Nordic Trophy, organised by the Nordic Water Polo League. Running from 5-7 June 2026, the high-stakes tournament will be hosted at the National Water Polo Centre in Nováky, Slovakia.
This landmark appearance marks the first time a South African team has ever competed in the Nordic League water polo competition, signalling a massive milestone for the squad and South African water polo as a whole.
With a core roster specifically built around the under-23 age group, Elevate Water Polo has engineered this tour to serve as a vital development bridge. By filling the competitive gap between the under-20 youth tier and the senior men’s international level, the tournament offers these rising athletes an invaluable opportunity to test themselves against seasoned European clubs.
“This campaign has been over 12 months in the planning, and we are pleased to see the players stepping up from junior men’s standard to senior men’s standard,” commented head coach Duncan Woods.
“Through their hard work, six players from the team have subsequently made their way up into the SA Water Polo’s senior men’s squad and I anticipate more players will be catching the selectors’ attention very soon,” added Woods.
Assistant coach/manager Jared Wingate-Pearse added that the challenge ahead is a significant one, but the side are up to the task.
“We need to remember we are a team of mostly under-23 players competing in a senior men’s club tournament, but that is the level of ambition we have for this group, and so far they have risen to every challenge we have put in front of them,” he said.
The tournament features a gruelling knockout-style format where the teams will be fighting for an overall placing between 9th and 16th in the broader Nordic League tournament. Elevate Water Polo will share the stage with a competitive international field, including teams from Slovakia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, the UK and Spain.
Elevate will officially begin their campaign against SPIF Stockholm on Friday, 5 June.
The championship will be setting up camp at the National Water Polo Centre in Nováky. A small town in Slovakia's Trencin region, Nováky is a famous powerhouse for Slovakian water polo, universally recognised for its passionate fan base and a rich history of producing top-tier international talent.
“Elevate are extremely proud of the players and coaches in this group,” said Elevate Water Polo co-founder David Ripsold. “This squad has battled through two rounds of tough European club competition in Lisbon and Tenerife just to get to this stage of play, and we back them all the way.
“We are grateful to the parents and our broader Elevate support network who have helped us to provide opportunities for players who have not had enough international exposure to enable them to be internationally competitive. This is something we are actively trying to change for the betterment of the sport in South Africa.”