Top-level men’s water polo will be heading to Gloucestershire early next month.

GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester will be playing host to a British Water Polo League weekend on Saturday and Sunday, December 6^th and 7^th, and it’s all set up to be a very special occasion.

Four Division One teams will be playing over the two days, with Cheltenham taking on Watford and Sutton & Cheam on the Saturday before tackling Polytechnic on the Sunday.

“Polytechnic and ourselves are the top two teams in the division,” said Cheltenham and Water Polo Club chairman James Ross.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a British Water Polo League weekend for a couple of years. Playing Polytechnic at home is a really big deal, it should be a really good, close game.”

Cheltenham are currently second in the eight-strong division, two points behind Polytechnic who have played a game more.

Three points are awarded for a win and the initial aim for all the teams is to make it into the top five – or Super 5s – which will be finalised after the December round of matches.

The top 5 will then compete in the second half of the season for the prize of overall champions and Ross added: “I think mathematically we can still get caught, but we’ve almost qualified.

“We want to finish top of the division before the Super 5s, hopefully we can overtake Polytechnic.”

The swim-off for that game is 4pm and Ross is hoping for a big crowd against a team who were crowned champions a couple of years ago.

Cheltenham’s last title success was in 2016 but they are always there or thereabouts, something which makes Ross very proud.

“We’re playing sides from Manchester and London, they are big-city teams,” he said.

“We are from a small town, we are massively punching above our weight and we have been for decades.”

And the vast majority of players who make up their teams have been produced in Cheltenham.

“We’ve got generations of families who have played for the club and are supporting the club,” continued Ross.

“We’ve got an amazing conveyor belt of players in Cheltenham and they stick with Cheltenham.

“We named a 17-strong squad for the start of the Nordic League in Lisbon and 14 of those players were born in Cheltenham and 15 came through the age groups at Cheltenham. There’s a real family feel to the club.”

The Nordic League weekend in Portugal is taking place this weekend and as well as playing Sporting Lisbon, Cheltenham will also play teams from Denmark and South Africa.