Wet Magic Water Polo Club History
Wet Magic Water Polo Club was founded and named by Bob Schlesinger and Brent Annells in about 1990 and as such it has now been in operation for over 30 years. John Cody assumed the management and organisation of the club in the late 1990’s until about 2002 when the role was passed to Sue Saunders, who remains closely involved in the club today. At this time John Whitehouse became president of the organisation, generally considered to be water polo royalty.
After retiring as a successful athlete across water polo, swimming and surf life saving, Whitehouse has dedicated his life to advancing water polo across numerous roles, including on the Water Polo Australia board and FINA Technical Water Polo Committee, and is a member of the WPA Hall of Fame and WPA Life Member. He is also widely recognised as one of the best referees of his era, and awarded the honour of refereeing the gold medal game at the 1988 Olympics, 1991 World Championships and the bronze medal game at the 1992 Olympics.
Despite these larger successes, Whitehouse continued to give back to his local community, coaching many Wet Magic and Tasmanian teams over the years. Our club is privileged to have people like John and Sue, with the wealth of knowledge and experience they provide to the club.
The club was the largest and strongest water polo wise for much of the 2000s and early 2010s and enjoyed great success at the senior level especially. The Senior Women’s team enjoyed a winning streak, winning 5 out of 6 Grand Finals between 2016-2021, while the Senior Men’s team have also enjoyed multiple Grand Finals wins during this time including a three peat from 2015-2017 and successes in the earlier 2010s. Our junior teams have also enjoyed many wins over the years, and our teams continue to perform with excellence during club competition. We pride our club in continuing to provide a fun and enjoyable experience for players of all ages to enjoy our great sport.
