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The best water polo league underwent changes forced by SV Basel, and SC Schaffhausen voluntarily decided to relegate to the NLB.
To preserve the championship and have enough participating teams, Swiss Waterpolo changed the mode and the three best-ranked teams in the NLB in 2023 after Kreuzlingen II (SK Bern, Riviera Barracudas, and SC St. Gallen, formerly WBA Tristar) agreed to join the new NLA.
Swiss Waterpolo changed the mode as follows:
- Preliminary Round (PR): single round-robin played indoors in winter.
- Main Round: Group A (1st to 4th of PR) and Group B (5th to 8th of PR) play a triple round-robin
- Playoffs:
- Group A 1st and 2nd are qualified for the semifinals
- Quarterfinals best-of-three Group A 3rd vs Group B 2nd and Group A 4th vs Group B 1st.
- Semifinals best-of-five
- Final best-of-five
The new mode is a very good compromise to include more teams in the NLA, but also having more top-tier games and avoiding uneven games between the new joiners and the top teams as much as possible.
Another change in the rules is the introduction of the “Swiss Sport Experience” status. One additional foreign player per team can play in the NLA if:
- they played in the club for at least three continuous seasons
- have a valid residence permit (B, C or G)
- have a coach license A or higher and coached at least ten youth games in the past season.
- The club has a team in at least three youth categories.
This new rule is meant to stimulate NLA clubs to hire foreign players who have coaching experience with recognized license and and will be involved in coaching youth teams with continuity.
