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 | 12 |
| Country | Croatia Montenegro Serbia |
| Continent | LEN (Europe) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Novi Beograd (1st title) (2021–22) |
| Most titles | Jug (4 titles) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | No |
| Official website | regionalnavaterpololiga |
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]
Starting with the 2020–21 season, the league is played in different format due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having two groups (2020–21 season with host cities being Belgrade and Dubrovnik, and 2021–22 season with host cities Belgrade and Split) and final tournament (2020–21 host being Zagreb, and 2021–22 host being Belgrade);[6] In 2020–21 season, the Serbian club Radnički eventually won their first championship, thus ending 8-year dominance of the Croatian clubs. In 2021–22 season, the newcomer to the competition, Novi Beograd, lifted its maiden trophy.[7]
Current clubs
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Clubs that participate in the 2021–22 season:
- Regional Water Polo Premier League Group A
| Club | City |
|---|---|
 Jug CO | Dubrovnik |
| HAVK Mladost | Zagreb |
 Jadran | Herceg Novi |
 Šabac | Šabac |
| Budva | Budva |
| Novi Beograd | Belgrade |
| Partizan | Belgrade |
- Regional Water Polo Premier League Group B
| Club | City |
|---|---|
| Radnički | Kragujevac |
| Jadran | Split |
| Crvena zvezda | Belgrade |
| Solaris | Šibenik |
| Primorac | Kotor |
| Mornar | Split |
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 22 clubs from five countries have played in the top-tier of the Regional League.
| – | Played in second-tier division | |||||
| 1st | Champions | |||||
| 2nd | Runners-up | |||||
| 3rd | Third place | |||||
| SF | Semi-finalists | |||||
| R | Regular season champions | |||||
| Club | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Total seasons |
Highest finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Branik Maribor | — | — | — | — | — | 12th | 15th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 12th |
| Budva | 5th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th | 6th | 11th | — | 7th | 9th | — | 8th | 12th | 13th | 12 | 4th |
| Cattaro | — | 6th | 12th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 6th |
| Crvena zvezda | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | — | — | 7th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 6 | 5th |
| Jadran Split | 9th | 10th | 10th | 12th | 7th | 9th | 12th | — | 8th | SF | SF | SF | 3rd | 2nd | 13 | 2nd |
| Jadran Herceg Novi | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 8th | SF | 5th | SF | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 6th | 5th | 14 | 1st |
| Jug | 1st | 2ndR | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 1stR | 2nd | 2nd | 2ndR | 3rd | 14 | 1st |
| Koper | 10th | 13th | 8th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 8th |
| Medveščak | 11th | 11th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 14th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 9th |
| Mladost | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | SF | SF | SF | 2nd | 1stR | 1stR | 4th | 9th | 14 | 1st |
| Mornar | 8th | 8th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 6th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 10th | — | 12th | 13 | 5th |
| Novi Beograd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1stR | 1 | 1st |
| Partizan | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6th | 5th | SF | 6th | 9th | 9th | 10th | 7th | 8 | SF |
| POŠK | 12th | 12th | 13th | 8th | 6th | 8th | 10th | 9th | — | 7th | 10th | — | — | — | 10 | 6th |
| Primorac | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 10th | 9th | 7th | 13th | — | — | 8th | 8th | 6th | 9th | 8th | 12 | 3rd |
| Primorje | 7th | 7th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1stR | 2nd | 5th | 10th | — | — | 11th | — | 11 | 1st |
 Pro Recco | — | — | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1st |
| Radnički | — | — | — | — | — | — | SF | 7th | — | — | — | — | 1st | 4th | 4 | 1st |
| Solaris | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8th | 10th | 2 | 8th |
| Šabac | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5th | 7th | 7th | 11th | 4 | 5th |
| Šibenik | 6th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 12th | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6th |
| Triglav Kranj | — | — | — | — | 11th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 11th |
| Vojvodina | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9th | 8th | 9th | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 8th |
Finals
| Season[8] | Champions | Runners-up | Result | 1st of Regular Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2008–09 |
Jug |
Jadran |
–note |
Jug |
2009–10 |
Jadran |
Jug |
11–8 |
Jug |
2010–11 |
Jadran |
Jug |
9–7 |
Jadran |
2011–12 |
Pro Recco |
Primorje |
15–4 |
Pro Recco |
2012–13 |
Primorje |
Jug |
9–8 |
Primorje |
2013–14 |
Primorje |
Jug |
8–7 |
Primorje |
2014–15 |
Primorje |
Jug |
15–9 |
Primorje |
2015–16 |
Jug |
Primorje |
9–5 |
Jug |
2016–17 |
Jug |
Jadran |
15–3 |
Jug |
2017–18 |
Jug |
Mladost |
15–8 |
Jug |
2018–19 |
Mladost |
Jug |
13–12 |
Mladost |
2019–20 |
Mladost |
Jug |
15–11 |
Jug |
2020–21 |
Radnički |
Jug |
14–12 |
Jug |
2021–22 |
Novi Beograd |
Jadran Split |
14–11 |
Novi Beograd |
note In 2008–09 season, the league was played in a round-robin tournament format.
Awards
| Season[9] | MVP | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Aleksandar Ivovic (Jadran) | |
| 2009–10 | Aleksandar Ivovic (Jadran) | |
| 2010–11 |  Denes Varga (Primorje Rijeka) |
Denes Varga (Primorje Rijeka) Sandro Sukno (Primorje Rijeka) |
| 2011–12 | Darko Brguljan (Budva) | |
| 2012–13 | Sandro Sukno (Primorje Rijeka) |
Aleksandar Ivovic (Jug) |
| 2013–14 | Paulo Obradovic (Primorje Rijeka) |
Denes Varga (Primorje Rijeka) |
| 2014–15 | Sandro Sukno (Primorje Rijeka) | |
| 2015–16 |  Felipe Perrone (Jug) | |
| 2016–17 | Luka Loncar (Jug) |
Paulo Obradovic (Jug) |
| 2017–18 | Marko Macan (Jug) |
Luka Bukic (Jug) |
| 2018–19 |  Cosmin Radu (Mladost) |
 Daniil Merkulov (Jug) |
| 2019–20 | Luka Bukić (Mladost) | |
| 2020–21 | Lazar Dobožanov (Radnički) |
Daniil Merkulov (Jug) |
| 2021–22 | Duško Pijetlović (Novi Beograd) |
Nikola Lukić (Radnički) |
Records and statistics
Performance by clubs
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jug | 4 | 8 | 2008–09, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 | 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 |
| Primorje | 3 | 2 | 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 | 2011–12, 2015–16 |
| Jadran | 2 | 2 | 2009–10, 2010–11 | 2008–09, 2016–17 |
| Mladost | 2 | 1 | 2018–19, 2019–20 | 2017–18 |
| Pro Recco | 1 | 0 | 2011–12 | |
| Radnički | 1 | 0 | 2020–21 | |
| Novi Beograd | 1 | 0 | 2021–22 | |
| Jadran Split | 0 | 1 | 2021–22 | |
By country
| Club / Nation | Won | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia |
9 |
12 |
| Montenegro |
2 |
2 |
| Serbia |
2 |
0 |
| Italy |
1 |
0 |
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.
- "Regionalna vaterpolo liga počinje u januaru: Beograd i Dubrovnik domaćini polufinalnih turnira". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). 21 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- "Novi Beograd šampion Regionalne lige, prvi trofej u klupskoj istoriji!". regionalnavaterpololiga.com (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- "Regionalna vaterpolo liga". www.rwp-league.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- "Regionalna vaterpolo liga". www.rwp-league.com. Retrieved 8 March 2022.