Beach Water Polo in Cyprus

Every summer, Cyprus trades its Olympic pools for the sea and hosts one of the liveliest events on the island's water polo calendar: beach water polo. It is fast, sun-soaked, and open to athletes of all ages. This guide covers what beach water polo is, how the Cyprus event has grown, who it suits, and how your team can take part. For dates and registration, head to the beach water polo event page.

What is beach water polo?

Beach water polo is a shallow-water, small-sided version of the traditional game, played in the sea close to shore. Teams are smaller and the playing area is more compact, which makes the game faster, more free-flowing, and more attacking than the pool format. Without lane ropes or deep water, players are constantly involved, and the pace rarely lets up. The beach setting adds a festival atmosphere that players and families love, and because the barrier to entry is low, it is a brilliant way to keep skills sharp over summer while enjoying the Cyprus coast.

The Cyprus event, since 2017

Cyprus Athletic Tourism has run a beach water polo event every summer since 2017, and it has grown from a local fixture into a genuine festival — welcoming more than 300 people each year from across the island and from different parts of Europe. The vision behind it has stayed consistent: create unforgettable experiences for kids and adults, introduce more young athletes to water polo, and celebrate multicultural respect, fair play, health and fitness, family engagement, and community involvement. Every edition brings together familiar faces and new visitors, and for many teams it has become a fixed point in the summer calendar.

Who it is for

Beach water polo suits a wide range of participants, from youth academies taking their first competitive trip to adult club players looking for a different kind of summer contest. The smaller-sided, high-tempo format rewards skill and fitness over size, which makes it accessible and genuinely fun for mixed abilities. It pairs naturally with a warm-weather camp — many teams add a beach session or the event itself onto a pool-based water polo training camp in Cyprus, or combine it with friendly games and tournaments for a full week of water polo.

What to expect at the event

The event follows a format that has worked for years: competitive beach matches held over a summer weekend in Paphos, a welcoming atmosphere for visiting teams, and family-friendly activities around the games. Expect sun, a busy shoreline, and the community spirit that has defined the event since the start. If you are planning a summer trip to Cyprus, it makes an ideal centrepiece or a memorable finale to a training camp.

Combine it with a camp

Many visiting teams treat the event as the highlight of a longer stay, training in the Olympic pools during the week and finishing with beach water polo at the weekend. It is the best of both worlds: serious preparation in world-class facilities, and a relaxed, competitive send-off in the sea. Our guide on how to plan a water polo camp in Cyprus shows how the pieces fit together.

How to take part

Dates, registration, and full details live on the beach water polo event page. To combine the event with a full camp — pools, accommodation, transfers, and meals — request a quote and we will build the trip around it.