NYP Dragons excited to be in Brisbane after a long and bumpy road

When the 18&U Girls NYP Dragons team get to Brisbane to face the best teams across the country at the 2022 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships, it will feel like the biggest challenges are already behind them.

“After having two years of almost no competition, the girls are so excited to be back in the water doing what they love and having some fun,” said team’s goalkeeper Niquita Barry, before explaining how even having a team at the Championships required enormous efforts due to the circumstances.

“With all the competitions being rescheduled, gathering the team was the largest obstacle we had to overcome,” Barry said.

The Victorian team didn’t let the challenge derail their journey to the AYWPC. With a core group of six players already secured, they started putting out calls across the state for other girls to join. Soon enough, other players got in touch to be part of the team and girls from Essendon, Monash, Northcote and Geelong were eventually included in the squad for the Championships.

“Each of us have already played together from time to time, throughout different tournaments and stage competitions,” Barry explained. “But being a mixed team means that every player has multiple state and club commitments, with the VCE on top of that. It has made coming together and training as a team quite hard.”

Team recruitment and chemistry weren’t the only problems for the Dragons. Due to Queensland's floods creating a shortage of vehicles, securing transportation was the next one on the list.

“Luckily after spending an afternoon on the phone, we managed to book a chartered coach. Hopefully our uniforms arrive before we leave on Wednesday, but either way nothing’s going to stop us now!” Barry said.

The 18&U NYP Dragons team now bursts with excitement and anticipation. With such a variety of experience across the squad, those on AYWPC debut will no doubt have plenty of mentors to guide them through the Championships and enjoy the team’s participation in the event to the fullest.

“Everyone goes with the intention to win the tournament, but our main goal is to have fun, play some water polo and make some good friends and memories,” Barry said.

The AYWPC are set to be held from 14-18 April 2022, with teams from across the country converging on Brisbane for five days of water polo fun and action. The draws for all age categories can be viewed here with all the information about the event also available on the event website.

Looking for things to do while in Brisbane for the AYWPC? CLICK HERE to find out more