Contributed by Shirley Neo

Singapore, September 4, 2009 – The Singapore Swimming Association (SSA) will be organizing the 1st Singapore Water Polo (SWP) Open Invitational at Toa Payoh Swimming Complex from September 6th - 10th 2009.

This competition is a lead-up to the SEA Games in Laos in December 2009 and teams from Philippines, Thailand and Singapore will be competing against each other over the next five days.

Singapore will be sending two teams to participate in this tournament which will serve as a selection for the final Singapore squad.

Singapore will be looking to win their 23rd consecutive SEA Games gold in Laos. Singapore Water Polo (SWP)-SSA is leading the effort in assisting the host country by providing technical and logistical support, and has also been working closely with the Laos Aquatic Federation and the other stake holders for Water Polo within the region to ensure that the sport will be featured.

These two Singapore teams will see a mixture of experienced and youth players as part of SWP's aim to move beyond the SEA Games and towards the Asian Games. SWP is targeting to win the approval of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) for inclusion in the 2010 Asian Games.

This year Singapore came in second in the Federation Internationale De Natation Amateur (FINA) World Development Trophy in Kuwait and the next target competition will be the Commonwealth Water Polo Championship in March 2010.

"Water polo is arguably Singapore's most successful sport, with the Singapore men's water polo team having been crowned champions for an unprecedented 22 editions of the SEA Games. Our goal is to position Singapore as the water polo hub of Asia and make this competition a key feature in the international Water Polo calendar.”

“In line with SWP's strategic vision for water polo in Singapore and the region, various programmes and activities are in the pipeline to enhance the awareness and interest of water polo in Singapore, providing a platform to develop talent exponentially, taking us into the next wave of glory," said Mr Ivan Tan, Vice President of Water Polo, Singapore Swimming Association.

SWP-SSA is also using this event to prepare technical officials from the participating countries for the SEA Games in Laos. Participating nations will be required to contribute technical officials to augment the lack of trained officials in Laos. Two members from the Laos Aquatic Federation are here to observe the conduct of the SWP Invitational so that they will have a better idea of how Water Polo tournament is conducted.