To our water polo community,
I am writing this a few days on, still buzzing from what we witnessed on the pool deck at Sydney Olympic Park. It has taken me a little while to find the words, because what unfolded over those five days was bigger than a tournament. It felt like a homecoming.
26 years ago, that same pool decided Olympic medals. Last week, it did it again, and this time it was our community, our teams, and our people who made it happen. I want to take a moment to properly reflect on what we witnessed, and to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who made it possible.
To the Ord Minnett Aussie Sharks and Aussie Stingers, and everyone who stood behind them – thank you. Not just for what you achieved in the pool, but for the heart you showed getting there. You gave everything you had, in front of a home crowd that gave everything right back to you, and you inspired a nation in the process.
Our Aussie Stingers showed true courage, going toe to toe with the best in the world and giving every single person in that crowd a reason to lose their voice cheering. Delivering a bronze medal performance that had every fan in the stands on their feet cheering.
I watched the Aussie Sharks claw their way into the semi finals, only the third time in our history the men’s team has reached that stage of a major tournament. The composure, the belief, the refusal to give up when the match was on a knife’s edge. That is what this sport is about.
Congratulations to Tilly Kearns named most valuable female player of the tournament, and Sharks captain Nathan Power named male defender of the tournament.
The results of the teams, of individuals… these moments do not happen by accident. They are built on years of sacrifice, early mornings, and relentless work behind the scenes, and they deserve every bit of celebration we can give them.
But if I am honest, the results are not even the part that moves me most. What will stay with me is looking up into the stands and seeing kids there for the very first time, wide eyed, watching this sport for the first time in their lives. Just as it happened in 2000, some of those kids will have been hooked that week. Somewhere out there, a future Stinger or Shark just found their sport, and they don’t even know it yet.
To our board, staff and volunteers
Hosting an event of this scale is not a small decision. Our board looked that risk in the eye and backed our sport, and I want to thank them for having the courage to believe in what we could deliver, even before we had proven it.
To our staff and volunteers, I honestly don’t know how to thank you enough. You were wonderful. Every single day, I watched passionate, committed people give more than the job asked of them, because they cared. You went over and above, again and again, to make sure every athlete, every spectator and every viewer at home had an experience they would never forget. I am so proud to say we had best in class staff on the ground for the whole tournament, and I hope you know how much that was noticed and appreciated.
To World Aquatics
Thank you for trusting us with this event. I hope, more than anything, that we have shown you just how deeply this community loves this sport. We are unashamedly ambitious about what comes next. We want to host future events, and we welcome the opportunity to make them even better again.
To our partners, sponsors and supporters
Events like this are built on the belief of others long before a single ball is thrown. We could not have done this without you. To our government and corporate supporters, our broadcast partners, our consulate partners and our media partners, thank you for backing us, for trusting our vision, and for helping us put on a world class event that our whole country could be proud of.
To our incredible water polo community
This one is for you. You bought the tickets. You bought the merchandise. You filled the stands and cheered our Stingers and Sharks on to incredible results, and you did it with a voice that our athletes told us they could feel in the water. You have given us the confidence to dream about hosting again. Our teams told us, again and again, that they had never experienced anything quite like it. That was all you.
When we first set out to bring the World Cup Finals to Sydney, we allowed ourselves to dream about what it could look and feel like. We held onto three of those dreams more tightly than the rest.
First, that our teams would have a great experience they would remember for the rest of their careers. From accommodation to transport to food, we wanted nothing left to chance, and everything was outstanding. The competition environment was Olympic standard, because our athletes deserve nothing less.
Second, that the spectator experience would create a moment in time. We pictured kids in Sharks and Stingers t-shirts, faces painted green and gold, screaming their lungs out for our teams until their voices gave out. When I stood pool side and watched that exact scene play out in front of me, I will admit it, I got a lump in my throat. That is exactly what we saw, and it was every bit as special as we hoped.
Third, we could use this event as a platform to bring our whole community together, not just for five days of competition, but to honour the people who built this sport long before any of us arrived. As part of that, we were proud and moved to induct 17 amazing women into our Hall of Fame, women whose contribution to water polo in this country deserves to be remembered for generations.
To every single person who was part of this, on deck, in the stands, behind the scenes or watching from home, thank you. You gave this sport a moment it will never forget, and you have given all of us something to build on. Here’s to what comes next on the road to Brisbane 2032. I cannot wait to see where this takes us together.
Tim Welsford Chief Executive Officer Water Polo Australia
