From CanoePolo.org

There are three regular Australian National Competitions, and occasional other competitions have been held in conjunction with the infrequent International Competitions and Championships held in Australia. Plus the odd high level invitational comp that attracts teams from a few centres.

The three are:-

• Annual Australian Inter-State Championships
• Annual Australian Inter-Club Championships
• Australian National League

To each of these overseas teams are usually welcome, and a few have participated.

[edit] Summary of the three competitions

The Inter-Clubs have run since about 1979. For a few years they were held very informally in conjunction with the Australian Slalom Championships. Since about 1982 they have run separately.

The Inter-States have run since about 1983.

Policy and practice has changed over the years. Some years the two Championships are held one after the other on successive extended weekends in the same location, so that more teams can travel to the one location.

In other years the two have been held 6 months apart in two different locations. This enables players to better concentrate on either their club team or their state team, and to not have to take a whole week of holiday off.

The National League was started around 1990 ??, with the Women's National League starting a couple of years later. The teams are nominally club teams, but are often a super-team. There are only a few players who can afford to make the commitment to travel interstate two or three times a year for this additional competition. Teams have only entered the league from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra. (This information really needs checking!)