2020 in focus: Referee Andrew Carney

Water Polo Australia’s ongoing 2020 in focus series is all about getting to know the people at the heart of our great sport - the coaches, players, referees and volunteers who form part of the Australian water polo community.

Andrew Carney is one 15 referees appointed to officiate OVO Australian Waterpolo League matches in the 2020 season.

In addition to his work on the domestic water polo scene, Carney is also one of seven Australian FINA referees, refereeing at recent international events such as 2014 FINA World Cup, two Junior Women’s World Championships and World League Finals.

The highlight of Carney’s refereeing career, to date, he says is the 2014 FINA World Cup in Russia.

“The 2014 FINA World Cup was a very eye opening experience and my first major international tournament outside of the World League Finals,” Carney said.

“We spent two weeks before the World Cup at a training camp in Hungary and during that we went to a small town about a two hour bus ride from where we were staying to open a new water polo pool,” he said.

“That was a really special memory for me, and you could tell it meant a lot to that town, the opening was even shown live on TV in Hungary!”

“That tour sticks with me as one of the best, I was appointed to a fifth-sixth play-offs match which was really rewarding too,” Carney said.

Despite his years of experience refereeing across large scale tournaments, Carney will be the first to admit he still gets nervous before games.

“I will admit that I do get nervous before every international game, regardless of who it is,” Carney said.

“But I just try to clear my mind and approach the game like I would any other.”

But Carney’s focus does not stop at the top level - the NSW referee enjoys giving back to the game, and mentoring younger referees on their journeys.

“I find it very rewarding to be able to pass on some of my knowledge and experience to the younger referees,” Carney said.

“It’s great to see them progress through the levels over the years,” he said.

He had one piece of advice for junior referees.

“Don’t change who you are - there’s little subtleties with learning different things and adapting to the game, but never change who you are.”