When the average summer day in Karratha is a sizzling 36 degrees you can understand why kids aren't charging out the door for weekend sports.

So when the Melville Water Polo Club (MWPC) came knocking on our door for sponsorship, a great opportunity was realised.

Late last year the MWPC needed funding to host the Tom Hoad Cup - an international water polo tournament attracting players from as far as Romania, Serbia and China.

Superintendent Community Investment Leesa King says Rio Tinto was happy to chip in on one condition - the MWPC helped establish junior water polo, or Flippa Ball as it's known, in the Pilbara.

"In summer it's too hot for kids to play soccer and other outdoor sports. We wanted something tailored for kids that would keep them active and get them involved in a group sport," says Leesa.

"Flippa Ball is perfect. The kids are in the water, they're cool and they're learning to become better swimmers, which helps with water safety."

A game of Flippa Ball in action

Registrations for Flippa Ball opened in March this year and Leesa says the response was incredible.

"We had between 40 and 100 kids turn up each Sunday. For a population of around 10,000 that's not bad."

"In fact, some of the kids were so excited they didn't sleep the night before."

What has made Flippa Ball such a success is the long term approach that was taken in setting it up.

"We didn't want this to be a one off," says Leesa.

"We wanted local people to learn how to coach and umpire so the competition could continue without the MWPC - so we have members of the club come up on a regular basis to teach locals the rules and how to train the kids."

Another hurdle to overcome was the pool opening hours, but Leesa says the Shire of Roebourne helped with that.

"The Shire has been really supportive. They trained extra pool staff so we could have the aquatic centre open for matches on a Sunday."

Flippa Ball has proved popular with many families in the Pilbara