Senior Leagues

We play at Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre (WRAC) in Kilbirnie, Wellington on Thursday nights 7:20pm - 9:45pm, this is also known as a 'Senior League' night. Throughout the year there are different Leagues organised for players to participate in. They range in length from short 3 week leagues up to longer 8 week leagues. 

WUHA Clubs Coordinator & Club Representatives

WUHA Clubs Coordinator: Geoff Coplon
Club Reps
  • Phoenix: Mazen Rabih, Mitchell Thomas-Beck​
  • Crocodylus: Ben Paviour-Smith​, Eloise Sharpe
  • Knights of McGinley: Leah Chamberlin, Josie Hunt

Season 2026

The new season is here. All players must register for the year here: https://forms.gle/1j1Kt7ttNB5r6RKJ6.

The schedule for the year is below. There is a small fee increase for 2026 memberships. The early payment discount ends 1 April (detail below).

Club League Rules / Approach

  • Attendance: poor attendance impacts everyone at the pool, the team you're playing for and the teams you're playing against. Attendance was pretty good for the first half of last year, but fell away in the second. We have a policy that poor attendance may impact your preferred grade. This will be monitored more closely this year (in conjunction with the club reps). Poor attendance or availability could impact the grade and/or position you're allocated. We understand that life happens, and will do our best to accommodate where we can.
  • Mercs: per 2025, we're going to use an "official mercs" policy for cup leagues. Generally, people with limited availability will be made mercs, If you're wanting to enter in this way due to unpredictable availability (e.g. work travel), please note that in the registration for a given league.
    Merc rules:
    • Mercs will be allocated to teams by club reps in conjunction with team captains
    • A like-for-like replacement for missing players will be made
    • If teams are full or adding a merc will significantly change the strength of a team, there may be no spaces available
    • People named in teams are not eligible to merc
  • Playing as clubs: we've retained the extended number of weeks we play as clubs this year, to enable preparation for Norths as well as Nationals. This will be reviewed and discussed with clubs throughout the year (there is a chance an additional week will be added to club-based #1). While this is in the interests of clubs, it does make it harder to ensure we have balanced games. 

​​​Cup League #2 (Thursday)

This is our second competitive league for 2026. Players were allocated to grades and teams by club reps.

Conditions
  • Five nights: 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th & 32nd June
  • Grades: A & B
  • No players may play who have not registered for the league (registrations are closed)
  • Nightly merc allocation managed by club reps / captains subject to agreed rules and capacity (no guarantee of a spot)
  • Attendance and results will be recorded
  • A player-selected MVP for each grade will be awarded at the conclusion of the league

Results

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Due to the number of defaults in and poor recording of results, stats for B-grade have not been published.

Draw & Teams

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No-231 League #1 (Thursday)

This is a fun league. There one main rule - teams are not to play in 2-3-1. Instead of assigning formations this year, I'll leave it to each team to figure out what they want to do, and what works best with the resources they have. If you need inspiration, have an ask around the pool for ideas, or have a read below.
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Conditions
  • Three nights: 23, 30 Apr, 7 May
  • Grades: A/B
  • Mercs ok, as long as they're financial; feel free to jump in and help teams if they're short and everyone agrees
  • No attendance or result records
  • Water refs and chief ref / first responder are mandatory

Teams & Draw
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Formations we've previously tried

2-2-2: The OG
  • 2 forwards, 2 mids, 2 backs
What many of us started with, very strong on the wall. Forward/mid and mid/back rotations, with the forwards working as a pair too. Goes wide via open mid peeling out and looking for open forward. Everyone chases the open mid when they have this brain explosion...

2-1-2-1: Box variation
  • 2 forwards, 1 centre, 2 backs, 1 goalie
As played at Junior worlds by the U19M team in 2024, a box variant rather than a traditional 2-1-2-1. Forwards and backs rotate on the wall. Offside forward goes on-wall as needed to help. Centre and offside back stay level or behind the puck. Goalie holds the fort at the back, engaging as needed but staying off-wall unless it is static.

3-2-1: 90s Kiwi Domination [age grade teams]
  • 3 forward, 2 backs, 1 goalie
An aggressive formation working like a permanent horns attack. Onside forward and centre work with their back to attack, constantly putting the puck behind the opposition and turning them around. When it breaks down the puck is swung around the backs via the goalie to attack via the other side of the formation (no back/goalie rotation). The centre is a forward and should have a one for one sub. 

1-3-2: The French
  • 1 forward, 3 wings, 2 back/goalies
(still to come, never did get a write up for this one)

2-1-1-x: The Stabbity
  • 5 dynamic players, 1 goalie
The formation only has one set position, a goalie at the back responsible for cleaning up when things go pear-shaped. The other three positions form a triangle around the puck and can be filled by any of the other five players at any time. The five are constantly predicting where the puck is going next to ensure the positions around the puck are always filled.

1-1-1-1-1-1: The Compass ™
  • 6 players, one conga line (not really recommended)
A tried-and-true formation that helped the wāhine of Spark, Phoenix's most prestigious C grade team, come dead last at 2017 Club Nats. The Compass™️ makes use of a simple linear plan - when the person at the front of the line comes up, they rotate to the back. You may think that sounds absurd, but the beauty of The Compass™️ is in its simplicity. In fact, with a formation this simple everyone should be able to master it. Aside from rotating, the only other piece of info you need to retain is that you track the puck across the pool moving on the diagonal, maintaining a 6-person single file line at all times. Offense gain? Nearly 0. Defensive power? +100 as you have 6 people working hard and spending nearly no time whatsoever on the bottom of the pool. It's silly, it's goofy, but most off all it may be the most fun formation to ever be played at Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre.

​​Cup League #1 (Thursday)

This is our first competitive league for 2026. Players were allocated to grades and teams by club reps.

Conditions
  • Six nights: 12, 19, 26 Feb & 5, 12, 19 Mar
    (26 Mar = regionals setup / scratch)
  • Grades: A/B
  • Nightly merc allocation managed by club reps / captains subject to agreed rules and capacity (no guarantee of a spot)
    Players with limited availability have been made mercs
  • Attendance, stats and results will be recorded (please make sure this happens, game sheets are provided poolside for this)
  • Water refs and chief ref / first responder are mandatory
  • A player-selected MVP for each grade will be awarded at the conclusion of the league
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Results

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Teams & Draw

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Club Leagues Scheule 2026

Please refer to the calendar below for the breakdown of all of the planned league nights.
Note the possible changes in term four, this is still to be confirmed.
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Clubs Fees 2026

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Clubs Selection Process

wuha_clubs_selection_process.pdf
File Size: 90 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Pool Rules

General:
  • Set up may begin at 7:20pm or earlier if the blue mats are down
  • Goals and barriers must be placed on the blue mats when getting them in and out of the water
  • 2 people per goal bin to carry and when swimming them in the water
  • 1 person per yellow barrier to carry and when swimming them in the water
  • There is to be no use of the bulk heads, if you must get from one side to the other either walk around or swim across
  • There is to be no poolside changing
  • A spotter is required for UWH and is a designated person focused on the pool at all times, they must be seated next to the pool on the blue chair or the bench and wear a high-vis vest. When playing half court, one is required each side.

Barrier Placement

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