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SK Bern is one of the newcomers in the NLA during season 2023/2024.
It’s not the first time the Swiss capital has a team in the NLA. In 1972 SK Bern won the NLB and played two seasons in the NLA until relegation in 1974. Subsequently, the water polo section of SK Bern formed a new club, and Wasserballklub Bern was able to win the NLB and return to the highest Swiss League in 1983. During the first season, the newbie surprised many teams and even won the winter championship (a predecessor of the Swiss Cup), ranking in the top five in the league at the end of the summer season.
After another relegation in 1986, WK Bern returned to the NLA in 1989 and played there until the club disbanded in 1994, and water polo disappeared from the map.
Only in 2008, thanks to the efforts of youth coach Simon Fischer, a new water polo section was created at SK Bern and the machinery started to move again.
A second key event was the arrival of coach and player Momcilo Jocic, who brought the team to the next level and to the promotion in the the NLB.
Wball.ch talked about the past, present, and future with water polo director and team captain Peter Kräuchi, youth coach Simon Fischer, and former WK Bern president Richard Jutzi.
wball.ch: what was the motivation to join the NLA after playing an excellent second half of the NLB in 2023 and finishing in 3rd place?
SK Bern: We have a new favorable situation in Bern, and since September 2023, we have a new 50m indoor pool. This is a decisive game changer as we can train more in a better infrastructure. We wanted to take advantage of the momentum, and the promotion in the NLA will help us increase water polo’s visibility in our region. We also have two foreign players, Francisco Quiles and Tomislav Denoble. It is the right moment to push our club forward.
wball.ch: How many practices do you have per week?
SK Bern: We have three practices in the pool, two times in the gym, and player-specific practices.
wball.ch: what are the advantages of the new Olympic pool?
SK Bern: In the past, we were extremely limited by not having access to the pool before 8 p.m. This meant that practice time was an immense blocker to offering a nice water polo program to kids in our region.
Another important aspect is that we now train simultaneously with the public. Water polo gets the attention of children and their parents swimming next to us. It’s a great way to display the beauty of our sport.
wball.ch: What are your club’s goals, and where do you see your club in two to three years?
We need to evaluate the senior team’s results at the end of this season. The financial fees to participate in the NLA, which are not final yet, also affect this. Ideally, we will establish ourselves in the middle of the NLA or at the top of the NLB.
Our primary focus is to have a broader base in the youth categories. Since September 2023, we have had twenty new club members, and our new player, Tomislav Denoble, joined our youth coach team.
The long-term goal is stability in the youth, with the NLA team at the top of the pyramid among the top four teams in Switzerland.
There is a “water polo vacuum” in the region between the eastern and western parts of Switzerland that we can fill.
wball.ch: How is the collaboration with other clubs in your region, such as Thun, Fribourg, Worb, or Bienne?
Unfortunately, water polo ceased to exist in Bienne and Worb.
In the last ten years, we have collaborated actively with Thun and Fribourg, and this season, a new collaboration with Red Fish Neuchatel started. Thanks to these collaborations, we are able to form youth teams and participate in the championships.
Our goal is to become the primary hub for the region so that our talents don’t have to leave for other cities to develop further.
We feel that there is a “water polo vacuum” in the region between the eastern and western parts of Switzerland that we can fill.
wball.ch: how do you see your potential as a club in a bigger city like Bern in terms of sponsorships?
It’s not as easy as one would think. A disadvantage of a city like Bern is that we also have other important clubs like Young Boys (football), SC Bern (ice hockey), BSV Bern (Handball), and even a first-division floorball team. Maybe smaller cities where water polo is the primary sport have it easier to attract sponsors.
wball.ch: how do you feel after the first two NLA games against Geneva and Carouge in Montreux?
We had already played against Geneva in the cup, and it was good to see that our game has improved since then. We are still trying to bond as a team, and there is definitely some potential left. Against Carouge, we had a good start, but we could not keep the high rhythm until the end.
We still need to adapt to play twice a weekend and on the 30-meter field.
Our focus is on competing and collecting points against the other two promotees, Riviera and St. Gallen, and trying to avoid last place.
wball.ch: many thanks for your time, and we wish you a good season.
