Regional Water Polo League
The Regional Water Polo League (abbr. RWP), commonly known as the Regional League or Adriatic League, is a regional water polo league in Southeast Europe. Originally, the league featured clubs from Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. In later years, clubs from Serbia joined the league and in one season club from Italy participated in the league.
 Official logo | |
| Sport | Water polo |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| No. of teams | 22 (10 clubs in A1, 12 clubs in A2) |
| Country | Croatia Montenegro Serbia Slovenia |
| Continent | LEN (Europe) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Mladost (2nd title) (2019–20) |
| Most titles | Jug (4 titles) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Adriatic Water Polo League A2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | No |
| Official website | rwp-league |
As of the 2019–20 season, ten clubs participate in Regional Water Polo League A1 and twelve clubs participate in Regional Water Polo League A2.
History
The league was established in 2008 as the "Adriatic Water Polo League" and the inaugural 2008–09 season consisted of clubs from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Members of the inaugural season were Jug, Mladost, Primorje, POŠK, Jadran Split, Medveščak Zagreb, Šibenik, Mornar, Jadran, Primorac, Budva, and Koper. The first league champions were VK Jug.
In the 2009–10 season, Cattaro joined the league and the Final Four was introduced into the league. In the 2011–12 season, the Italian water polo club Pro Recco request to join the Adriatic League was granted and immediately in their first season they became champions, but left the league after the season. The Serbian clubs (Partizan, Crvena Zvezda, Radnički and Vojvodina) joined the league in the 2014–15 season.[1]
Starting from the 2015–16 season, second-tier Regional League A2 was introduced.[2]
In February 2019, three team members of Serbian club Crvena zvezda were attacked in Split by Croatian ultra-nationalists, before regional league game against Mornar.[3] The incident was condemned by Croatian and Serbian public, and by many organizations and officials as well.[4] Following the incident, the Water Polo Federation of Serbia and Serbian clubs in competition sought to not play any further games in Split, and competition's Board of Directors made a decision to postpone any further games in Split in which Serbian clubs are included.[5]
Current clubs
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Clubs that participate in the 2019–20 season:
- Regional Water Polo League A1
| Club | City | Last season ranking |
|---|---|---|
 | Zagreb | 1st |
| Dubrovnik | 2nd |
| Split | SF |
 | Herceg Novi | SF |
 | Šabac | 5th |
| Split | 6th |
| Belgrade | 7th |
| Kotor | 8th |
| Belgrade | 9th |
| Budva | DNP |
- Regional Water Polo League A2
| Club | City |
|---|---|
| Kotor |
| Makarska |
| Zagreb |
| Niš |
| Split |
| Rijeka |
| Kragujevac |
| Šibenik |
 | Kranj |
| Novi Sad |
| Zadar |
| Zemun |
All-time participants
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Regional Water Polo League at any time since its formation in 2008 to the current season. A total of 21 clubs from five countries have played in the Regional League (A1).
| 2D | Played in A2 Division | |||||
| 1st | Champions | |||||
| 2nd | Runners-up | |||||
| 3rd | Third place | |||||
| SF | Semi-finalists | |||||
| R | Regular season champions | |||||
| y | Clubs playing in 2019–20 season | |||||
| Club | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Total seasons |
Highest finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 15th | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 12th |
| 5th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 11th | — | 7th | 9th | — | 8th | 10 | 4th |
| — | 6th | 12th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 6th |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | — | — | 7th | 5th | 4 | 7th |
| 9th | 10th | 10th | 12th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 8th | SF | SF | SF | 11 | SF |
| 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 8th | SF | 5th | 4th | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 12 | 1st |
| 1st | 2ndR | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 1stR | 2nd | 2nd | 12 | 1st |
| 10th | 13th | 8th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 8th |
| 11th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 14th | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 9th |
| 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | SF | SF | SF | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 12 | 1st |
| 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 10th | 12 | 5th |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 6th | 5th | SF | 6th | 9th | 9th | 6 | SF |
| 12th | 12th | 13th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 10th | 9th | — | 7th | 10th | — | 10 | 6th |
| 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 10th | 9th | 7th | 13th | — | — | 8th | 8th | 6th | 10 | 3rd |
| 7th | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1stR | 2nd | 5th | 10th | — | — | 10 | 1st |
 | — | — | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1st |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | SF | 7th | — | — | — | — | 2 | SF |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5th | 7th | 2 | 5th |
| 6th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 12th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6th |
| — | — | — | — | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 11th |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | 9th | 8th | 9th | — | — | — | 3 | 8th |
Finals
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Result | 1st of Regular Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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note In 2008–09 season, the league was played in a round-robin tournament format.
Records and statistics
Performance by clubs
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6 | 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 | 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19 |
| 3 | 2 | 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 | 2011–12, 2015–16 |
| 2 | 2 | 2009–10, 2010–11 | 2008–09, 2016–17 |
| 2 | 1 | 2018–19, 2019–20 | 2017–18 |
| 1 | 0 | 2011–12 | |
By country
| Club / Nation | Won | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
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References
- "Predstavljena nova regionalna vaterpolo liga". dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 5 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- "Regionalna liga od 25.septembra". waterpoloserbia.org (in Serbian). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
- "Serbian water polo team attacked in Croatia". washingtonpost.com. Associated Press. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "Srbi sazvali izvanrednu konferenciju zbog napada u Splitu, HVS i HOO najoštrije osudili izgred". dnevnik.hr (in Croatian). 9 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "ODRŽANA SEDNICA UO REGIONALNE LIGE: Mornar ne snosi odgovornost za napad, utakmice sa splitskim klubovima se odlažu do daljnjeg". novosti.rs (in Serbian). Tanjug. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.