FACES OF AYWPC I DEMETRIO ALATI (QLD)

The Australian Youth Water Polo Championships wouldn’t happen without the referees who give up their time to deliver more than 500 games of water polo in Perth.

When Queensland’s Demetrio Alati put his hand up to referee, he didn’t know at the time he’d have new doors and experiences open to him. 

Having played water polo as a teenager, Alati got into refereeing when his Brisbane Club needed someone to help with refereeing duties. Now, he’s refereeing at his second Australian Youth Water Polo Championships. 

“I have played water polo since I was 16, I used to play for [Brisbane] Barracudas and then I played overseas in places like Italy when I was on holidays. When I came back [from overseas], I was finding my way and I came out to my parents and there was a team starting up in Brisbane called the Brisbane Tritons, it trickled on from there. 

“I played for them for a few years, they needed to fill in referees for the senior tournament, and I was like ‘oh yeah I’ll referee’ and did the qualification… and then here we are, second AYWPC,” he said. 

Since getting his start at the Club/community level, Alati said the travel opportunities and the people he has met as a result of water polo, has been so rewarding. 

“The one big thing is being able to travel and see different parts of the country. 

“I’ve now traveled around Australia and met people through water polo… being able to meet new people and talk to different state referees like at the AYWPC, has been awesome,” he said. 

The 2023 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships is the first full program for the event since pre-pandemic, with the 2022 event not able to host 12&U age groups and was held over a condensed format. 

With more than 140 teams from across Australia, Alati said everyone is so pleased to see the event back to his full potential. 

“Lockdown was pretty hard for water polo, especially because you couldn’t play other people and couldn’t train. It’s been good to see everyone here again at the AYWPC,” he said. 

Refereeing provides people of all ages, backgrounds and locations, the chance to have the best view in the house and see water polo from a new perspective.

Starting his refereeing journey at the Club level, Alati said his advice to people thinking about getting involved is very simple.

“Do it! Jump in… why not. It’s amazing. 

“My aspirations would be to referee Premier League in Brisbane… I do want to improve and get to the point where you’re reffing gold medal and bronze medal games.  They are the goals. 

“And then maybe who knows… National League, maybe making the FINA School, you never know what can happen, there are so many levels [to refereeing],” he said. 

If you see a referee around on pool deck, be sure to pass on your thanks for their efforts. Because without them, we quite simply wouldn’t have any water polo.