CHRISTMAS LOCKDOWN WON'T STOP THE BREAKERS

Although they spent Christmas in lockdown the Sydney Northern Beaches (SNB) Breakers are looking forward to heading to Brisbane for the 2021 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC).

Originally slated for January 2021, the AYWPC had to be postponed due to the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic, and will kick off in Brisbane on April 7.

SNB Breakers Operations Director Dean Semmens said the Christmas lockdown presented it’s challenges, and once restrictions were eased it was time to hit the ground running again.

“Around New Years Eve we started doing some small group training sessions down at places like the Manly Dam, and Manly Beach,” Semmens said.

“The change in training environment always excites the kids and keeps them engaged,” he said.

But lockdown certainly hasn’t slowed their preparation, as teams compete in the Sydney Metro Competition and are preparing for the finals of the competition.

Although SNB Breakers are a non-AWL club they have a rapidly growing participation base and Semmens puts this down to their Flippaball program and junior talent.

“We have a really good Flippaball program going on and have had a lot of good junior talent go on to play at higher levels,” Semmens said.

“It’s great to see the young kids enjoying their water polo, having fun in the pool with their friends and hopefully they’ll be playing at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships soon too!”

Some of the current Aussie Stingers squad started their water polo journeys at SNB Breakers, and Semmens said the kids always love it when they come back to the club.

“Bronte (Halligan) and Tilly Kearns often come back and help us out with training and coaching junior programs when they are in town,” Semmens said.

“It gives the kids a bit of a lift, and gives them some role models to look up to. It’s always good for them to know that they can do it too,” he said.

The Australian Youth Water Polo Championships kick off in Brisbane on April 7, with the 14&U and 18&U held from 7-11 April and the 12&U and 16&U taking place from 13-17 April 2021.

The 2021 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships is a COVID Safe event in compliance with QLD Health guidelines.

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