Atlantis City Water Polo Club traveling across the ditch for Australian Youth Water Polo Championships

Taking place in Brisbane from 5-16 January, the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC) attracts talented water polo teams from far and wide.

The 2024 edition of the event will be no different with more than 210 teams set to compete, including six traveling from the Atlantis City Water Polo Club in Auckland, New Zealand.

Formed six years ago by former British Water Polo player Angie Winstanley-Smith and some keen parents, Atlantis is a holistic club that aims to promote fun and support both high-performance and developing athletes.

Club Chair of Atlantis City Water Polo Club, Shelley Horton has been with the club since her children started four years ago. She is thrilled to see the club bouncing back after the COVID pandemic and is excited to see the teams compete at the AYWPC in January.

“For us, COVID meant that New Zealand and Auckland were locked down a lot,” said Horton.

“Our athletes lost a lot of training and pool time which was really tough for everyone, so this year we’ve redeveloped the teams and have really been encouraging the players to be back in the water and playing.

“We recently took an U16 and U14 team to Hawaii and both performed really well. Our U16 team placed in the top four and our U14 team actually won, so that was amazing. 

“We noticed our athletes absolutely loved getting out, playing the sport and going international, so we decided to take the teams to Australia for the AYWPC as well.

“It’ll be great for them to get that exposure to a whole lot of different strategies, players and teams, and just spend more time in the pool doing what they love,” she finished.

Aimee Horton, Shelley’s youngest, is currently 14 years of age and will be playing at the AYWPC in the 16&U Girls Green division.

Having started with Flippaball when she was just seven years old, Aimee is very much looking forward to her second international competition in Brisbane this January.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with new people that I’ve never met before because the Auckland competition is quite small. It will be great to see how different countries play and react strategy wise too,” said Aimee.

“My favourite thing about the sport is how many people I’ve been able to meet through it, everyone is so nice. Some of my closest friends are my water polo friends, those people that I’ve grown up playing with.

Despite now being the head coach of the New Zealand Women's Water Polo team, Winstanley-Smith makes a continued effort to work with Atlantis, something that Aimee and her teammates appreciate.

“It’s really cool having Angie at Atlantis cause she coaches lots of high level teams and you can learn so much from her. She knows so much about the sport and makes such an effort to get to know the girls too, so we all love being coached by her and we feel confident that we can use what we’ve learnt from her at the AYWPC,” she said.

“Everyone is really excited, we’re all really looking forward to it!”

The AYWPC will take place across various venues in Brisbane from early to mid January 2024. To learn more about the event, visit the website here.

ORD MINNETT TEST MATCH SERIES

The Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks and Aussie Stingers will also be in Brisbane for the AYWPC, playing in a three test match series. Find out more and purchase your tickets here.

TOP 17 THINGS TO DO IN BRISBANE

You’ll have a ball in Brisbane while here for the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC) from 5-16 January. Plunge into the city and surrounds with this list of must-do experiences, from island hopping and adrenaline-fueled fun, to a foodie feast and endless summer sport.
The city will come alive when more than 210 teams from around the country compete in the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships for 12&U, 14&U, 16&U and 18&U divisions. We hope to see you, your team and family out and about exploring Brisbane’s must-do experiences. 

CLICK HERE to find out more