Success at Australian Youth Water Polo Championships

When you were a kid, what do you remember getting up to over the school holidays?

There was certainly no time for rest over the Easter break for eight of our students, who competed in the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships.

Sienna Walker (Year 9), Matilda Smith (Year 9), Elizabeth Kane (Year 8), Isabella Teasdale (Year 11), Bridget Cranley (Year 11), Isabel Bauer (Year 11), and the Veverka sisters, Jayde (Year 7) and Zara (Year 8), flew across the country to Brisbane to compete in the prestigious national tournament.

To say this championship is a big one would be an understatement. With 134 teams competing and more than 2000 players participating, spread across 12 different pools, the girls knew they would be up for a challenge.

They trained extremely hard for six months in the lead-up to the competition. Their weekly schedule consisted of three water polo training sessions, one water polo game for their club, and one swim squad session to support their fitness.

This paid dividends in the pool, with our students achieving some fantastic results.

Sienna, Elizabeth, Matilda, and Zara, who all played on the same team in U14 Division A, received an impressive fourth place overall! The girls only lost one game over the entire tournament.

Jayde, who was placed into a draft of players for the competition, was selected last minute by a club in Queensland to compete in U14 Division B. She took home a bronze medal!

Below, some of the girls share a little bit about their experience taking part in the competition:

“I loved competing in Brisbane because it allowed me to learn by playing good teams, teams who have had more competition than we have in WA because of the border. I enjoyed playing teams other than the other six that are in WA! I love water polo because it’s a sport where you can do everything, attacking and defending, and I love how much it challenges me.” Isabel

“A highlight for me was being able to verse different teams from all over Australia and taking part in a whole different competition. I have made so many friendships through water polo from all different age groups, older and younger, and it is so nice to see them around the College. I love water polo so much because it is very fun, and it is very rewarding.” Sienna

“I enjoyed staying in the same hotel as my teammates, especially my school friends. Even though some of us are in different year groups, we share water polo in common and get on well because of it. I love water polo because I get to meet girls all around Australia that are interested in the same thing that I am interested in.” Elizabeth

“The competition was really fun, I loved going to Brisbane and going out together as a team. It was also amazing to compete with people I know from school and people from other schools that I probably would have not gotten to know if it wasn’t because of the competition. The reason why I love water polo so much is because of the community around the sport and the feeling of winning a great match with my friends.” Matilda

Well done girls, on a fantastic five days of water polo! Your determination, resilience, and sportsmanship are unmatched.

Be sure to look out for our students in the next Australian Youth Water Polo Competition, which is set to be held in Perth, in January 2023!