World Cup, Divisions & Development – Vaughn Marlow on the future of international Waterpolo

“We Need to Rethink the Current World Cup Format” – Vaughn Marlow
on Tournament Structures, Development & Technology in Water
Polo In this second episode with Vaughn Marlow, head coach of the
South African men’s national team, we dive deep into the structure
of modern major water polo tournaments and why current formats
often fail to support real development for emerging nations. Vaughn
explains why he strongly supports the Division 1 & Division 2
concept of the World Cup, as it allows countries like Germany or
Romania to grow through competitive matches instead of facing top
nations with no realistic chance of success. He highlights why
development only happens through balanced games, not through heavy
wins or crushing defeats. A major focus is the challenge of
preparation for non-European nations: - Limited funding - Late
arrival at tournaments - Long international travel - Jet lag and
time zone changes - No professional league structures - Training
mostly against their own team Vaughn also shares detailed insights
into: - The World Cup in Berlin and its physical demands - Playing
two international matches in one day - Facing nations like Spain,
Serbia, Montenegro - How to correctly analyze defeats against fully
professional teams - Why coaches must differentiate between
tactical errors and pure structural disadvantages Another key topic
is technology in water polo. Vaughn discusses: - GPS tracking and
heart-rate monitoring - Performance analytics used in rugby and
football - Live data and in-game video feedback - Virtual reality
as a training tool - Why water polo still lags behind in sports
technology Finally, Vaughn looks ahead to the World Championships
in Fukuoka, explaining South Africa’s difficult group with
Montenegro, Serbia and Spain, and why these matches are still
crucial for long-term development—even if the results are
predictable. This episode is highly valuable for coaches,
federation officials, athletes and fans who want to understand how
international tournament formats, technology and realistic
development planning shape the future of global water polo. More
about the podcast: https://www.schulzekopp.de ️ Subscribe to the
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coaching, development and elite water polo.