A few weeks after the end of the Winter League, the stage is set for the summer season, with the BOV National Championship the primary target for the chief contenders.

As has been the case in the last two decades, the principal aspirants for the honours should again be Sliema, the champions, and Neptunes, two teams that have so often played with a fire-in-their-bellies attitude in their efforts to outdo each other.

Both teams are pinning their game on a core of youngsters and new signings, complemented by thoroughbreds, besides the foreign players.

So, it should be pretty much the same this year, only that two of the other teams, San Ġiljan and Sirens, cannot be overlooked.

The Saints, in particular, have strengthened their side with the acquisition of a couple of quality players, who are bound to supply more balance in the team despite the severe setback of not being able to utilise their prolific scorer Matthew Zammit following the recent FINA decision resulting from a doping test.

On their part, the northerners will rely on collective strategy based on their two or three most experienced units, with an influx of some promising new faces.

Exiles will most probably again play the role of also-rans despite their improvement in recent years, with their principal target being a berth in the top division which this year will comprise the first five-placed teams rather than the top four after the end of the preliminary round.

Not much can be expected from Marsascala, Marsaxlokk, Ta' Xbiex and Otters apart from their bid to produce some fighting displays and improve their points' tally on previous seasons.

The foreigners, of course, will be the focal points, and very much depends on which outfit can parade the most effective recruits from abroad.

As was evident from past years, successful teams had the best foreigners in their ranks.

This season, the teams again have the option to include two foreigners at a time in the water and, as from this year, also in the team lists, irrespective of the number of overseas signings.

In the final reckoning, the duels will turn out to be not only battles of resilience and opportunistic skills but also contests where wit and presence of mind, elements so important in waterpolo, can be the trump cards.

Neither should one discard the validity of a wide bench, where middle order players and tailenders can enter the fray without disrupting the team's balance.

As regards controlling the game, the officials in charge have to be very alert in their decisions, which, not infrequently, can be debatable. But such is the nature of waterpolo, wherever it is played.

So, all is set for another keen race for the summer league honour which starts today and ends on September 4 in both divisions, followed by the KO competitions.

Playing today: 6 p.m. Neptunes vs Exiles; 7.15 p.m. Sliema vs Marsascala.

Exiles

New signings: Kayne Lanzon, John Paris (out of retirement).

Foreigners: Florin Cosmin Bonca (Romanian), Aurelien Cousin (French).

Coach: Joe Caruana Dingli.

Marsascala

New signings: Ryan Sciortino, Gabriel Pace, Timmy Agius, Reinhardt Attard, Mark Borg Spiteri.

Foreigners: Botond Szabo (Hungarian).

Coach: Anthony Farrugia.

Marsaxlokk

New signings: D. Pace Lupi, Francesco Cutajar.

Foreigners: Adam Decker (Hungarian), Chris Vang (Swedish), Kven Vogel (Dutch), Louis Delsol (French).

Neptunes

New signings: Brayan Buhagiar (US), David Camilleri (out of retirement), Ian Bugeja (on loan).

Foreigners: Myklos Nagy, Tamas Molnar (both Hungarian), Vladimir Vujasinovic (Serbian).

Coaches: Sergey Markoch (Russian), Tony Camilleri.

San Ġiljan

New signings: Edward Aquilina, Karl Galea, Kai Dowling, Rainer Scerri.

Foreigners: Heiko Nossek (German), Marton Toth (Hungarian).

Coaches: Marco Risso (Italian), Pierre Borg.

Sirens

New signings: Peter Borg, James Spiteri Staines.

Foreigners: Tamas Varga (Hungarian), Jugoslav Vasovic (Serbian).

Coach: Karl Izzo.

Sliema

New signings: Paul Privitera, Alex Bianchi.

Foreigners: Bogdan Rath (Italian), Aljosa Kunac (Croatian) and Robert Kovacs (Hungarian).

Coaches: Sergio Afric, Peter Decesare.

Otters

New signings: Duncan Schembri, Keith Grima Scott, George Zammit and Otis Zammit.

Foreigners: Karol Baco (Hungarian), Peter Szabo (Hungarian) and Zoltan Radocz (Hungarian).

Coach: Alfred Cachia.

Ta' Xbiex

New signings: Ian Azzopardi, Tony Galea, Michael Axiaq, David Caruana, Edward Bonello, Charlie Bugeja, Alan Farrugia, Miguel Manara, Keith Zammit and Nello Xuereb.

Foreigners: David Gabriel (Dutch), Tamas Gyrovath (Hungarian).

Coaches: Marco Manara, Alex Tanti.