INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY I TARYN WOODS

When people think about Women’s Water Polo, they can’t help but remember the historic women’s gold medal match at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, when Australia won the first ever Olympic medal. 

Amongst the team was Taryn Woods, who was part of the Aussie Stingers squad at a time where there was extensive lobbying to get women into the Olympic Games. 

She saw first hand the transformation the game underwent leading into and following that critical turning point when women finally had the same opportunities to compete in the biggest sporting event in the world. 

Woods said since the 90’s, there have been incredible developments for women in water polo.

“I was lucky that the first time I was selected to travel with the senior team in 1991, it was the first time that female athletes didn't have to personally fund their own trip.

“Having women included in the Olympics in 2000, 100 years after the men compete, increased our level of funding and helped develop a more professional training environment for female athletes

“More recently, we have seen an increase in female coach involvement and for the first time the National Age Group Program (NAGP) has three female head coaches and another eight or nine female coaches on a coaching panel that all work across the NAGP program.  And additionally, the Stingers now have a number of female coaches on the broader coaching staff,” she said.

Woods is among the female coaching cohort, the Head Coach of the Australian Youth Women’s squad and also part of the coaches supporting the Aussie Stingers. 

“It is great for the female athletes to have access to a variety of coaches and having female coaches is an important part of this mix.

“I also think seeing female coaches will encourage them to consider coaching as a pathway for them,” she said. 

For Woods, water polo has always been a family affair, with her brother Gavin captaining Australia, she played in Sydney 2000 Olympics alongside her cousin Bronwyn Smith and her dad David who himself was a dual Olympian and coached both the men’s and women’s Australian water polo teams. 

“I remember my Dad talking about how when he first coached women's water polo teams, people told him that womens' water polo was different. He said water polo is water polo and coached that way. 

“My Dad had a big influence on my early water polo and taught us that we could do anything.

“In Australia there was an amazing group of people advocating for us to be included in the Olympics and with the 2000 Olympic Games being held in Sydney, they really took upon themselves to stand up and make some noise and not let the inequality go on. 

“People like Pat Jones and Leanne Barnes lead the way and were supported by a group of men and women as part of the movement, and because of that I know myself and overall our sport will be forever grateful to these people for what they were able to achieve,” she said. 

Woods' lifelong involvement in water polo makes her passionate about the future, especially for women. 

Her advice for women who might be looking at coaching as a pathway in the sport is to get in and give it a go. 

“Many good people gave up their time to help me as a player and I think it's important to give back to the sport that gave me so much. And to help others enjoy the sport that I loved so much as an athlete.

“Not to mention it is a really rewarding role to see players improve and grow and have some part in that. It's also a way to extend your own water polo career, even if in a different way,” she said.