PATH TO PERTH - RELEASING THE KRAKENS

The Canberra Krakens 16&U Girls Team are gearing up to head to Perth in two weeks time to take part in the 2025 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC). 

Following months of community fundraising and the tireless efforts of volunteers, the team cannot wait to take to the pool.

One such volunteer is club representative and Woden Waves Water Polo Club President Kym McNamara. 

Kym said it has been a real joy watching the players and the broader water polo community in Canberra come together, to make the Canberra Krakens’ return to the AYWPC a reality. 

“The ACT water polo player pool is very small compared to other states,” said Kym. “So we pulled girls from a range of clubs together as we found in the past that some kids have missed out on going due to not having enough numbers.

“We did try to field teams for all the age groups,unfortunately we were not able to get teams together for all of them, but we did manage to get a team together for the 16&U Girls.” 

“We have been continuously fundraising since we knew we had a team that could go and it has been really great to see the girls and the parents really embracing that,” she said. “We have done a barbeque, a trivia night, a bake sale as well as a cookie dough fundraiser. 

“A couple of the girls sold over 44 tubs of cookie dough, which was definitely hard to get into the freezer,” Kym jokes. 

Apart from fundraising, Kym and the coaching staff also organised a two day camp which specifically focused on bringing the relatively fresh playing group together and preparing them for the AYWPC. 

“Three of the girls on the Canberra Krakens team are based in Wagga, which is about 2-3 hours drive from Canberra,” she said. “This makes it really hard for us to train regularly together.

“That is why we ran the training camp, to start those relationships forming because kids that can communicate with each other outside of the pool, communicate better in the pool.”

For Kym she believes the AYWPC is fantastic at not only producing high quality and competitive matchups, but helping retain kids in the sport. 

“It is kind of around this age (16&U) that a lot of girls leave the sport and tournaments like the AYWPC continue to foster their interest.”

The 2025 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships will be held in Perth from 14-24 April. For more information on the event - click here.

Passport to Perth

The Australian Youth Water Polo Championships will make a stunning return to Perth / Boorloo, Western Australia in April 2025.

Planning on joining us in Perth / Boorloo? Check out these awesome spots and make your week of water polo one to remember - click here to find out more.