AYWPC Wrap | Day 8

Brisbane again turned on near perfect conditions for the second day of the 16&U and 12&U Australian Youth Water Polo Championships.

With 3,000 juniors and over 170 teams competing in the new event, there has been some fantastic water polo on display around the pools of Brisbane.

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Both the 12&U Men’s and Women’s competitions moved to the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, with many games going down to the wire.

The SNB Breakers drew 1-1 with Sydney Uni Lions in the boy’s competition.

Goalkeeper Aiden Hibbert had to defend two shots on goal inside the last minute of the match with scores deadlocked and said he was very nervous.

It was pretty nerve-wracking in the last few minutes, they kept having shots and we didn’t really cover that well,” he said.

Hibbert was really positive when speaking about participating in the new Australian Youth Water Polo Championships.

“It’s really cool actually, it’s a great opportunity for everyone and overall it’s just so much fun to be here.

“The team is good, everyone is really nice but also competitive, it’s like family,” he said.

Local Brisbane 12&U Women’s team the Mermaids kept their unbeaten record intact defeating Sydney Uni 3-1 earlier in the day.

Dasha Osadchuk form the Mermaids side is enjoying her time in the pool.

“It’s an amazing experience because you can meet other people from other teams and you just get to experience so much.

“My favourite part is simply playing the sport with my friends and having fun,” she said.

In the 16&U age divisions, the Championship and Bowl cross over matches began across multiple venues throughout the city.

One of the highlights for the day was when both the Aussie Sharks (men’s) and Aussie Stingers (womens’) squads trained alongside the future of the sport in the same pools where they were battling it out against their opposition.

As the Aussie Sharks trained in one half of the pool the 16&U Men’s UWA Bears pulled off an impressive win against UTS Balmain Tigers, 9-4.

Equal top goals scorer for the match and West Australian Julian Kyriakou was excited by the opportunity to show off his wares alongside the Aussie Sharks.

“It’s good to see the Aussie Sharks train and the test matches were helpful to watch and learn.

“Throughout the tournament it has been a good challenge playing other teams from across Australia and you also get to meet a lot of people and socialise,” he said.

Tune in for all the latest information and event highlights when you follow us on @WaterpoloAus and use #AYWPC.

GET INVOLVED IN AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST WATER POLO CELEBRATION

Attention ALL Clubs, join us at the second AYWPC Welcome Party for your chance to meet with all teams from across Australia and rub shoulders with Olympians. Don’t miss out on your tickets – click here. For directions and a map to Riverlife click here.

Don’t forget to make the most of your time in Brisbane and you could WIN the ultimate Aussie supporters pack using #AYWPCBrisbane - click here to download your FREE guide to Brisbane.

Our great friends at OVO will be live streaming all medal matches this Wednesday (12&U) and Thursday (16&U) on their FREE OVOPlay App – download it today in three simple steps.

Grab yourself a slice of AYWPC history and buy yourself something memorable. You can find the merchandise van out the front of the Brisbane Aquatic Centre and have a look at their shirts, backpacks, hats, jumpers and more. Check out their range online before you pop in - click here.