Countdown to the AYWPC… St Rita’s ready as teams hone final preparations

The Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYWPC) will return this week, 14-18 April, for the first time since 2019, as teams from all over Australia embark on the last stages of their journey to Brisbane.

The Polo Bears/St Rita’s (QLD) composite team have enjoyed a great lead-in to the AYWPC, putting the finishing touches on their preparations.

“Preparations have been great,” confirmed St Rita's Head Water Polo Coach Madi Wall.

“Our team has been working together throughout the 2021/2022 BWPI competition and we are really starting to gel”.

With an Olympic champion in their coaching ranks (Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medallist Naomi McCarthy ,coach of the U18s) and many players involved with the Queensland Premier League Women’s team who won the title this year, the young talents of the North Brisbane team have had plenty of opportunities for growth.

Wall said that working with the Premier League team was also crucial to give the athletes a clear development objective to work towards.

“The combination of St Rita’s College and Polo Bears assists the club in securing pathways into the Premier League and beyond by working with a strong school club,” continued Wall.

“Ensuring the girls are linked up and comfortable moving to a club post-graduation is a great thing for both the individual and the sport in general. From a performance level, it allows athletes to get comfortable playing with different team members and have access to different coaches, which is great development,” she said.

With over 150 teams and 2,500 between competitors, officials, staff and support personnel travelling to Brisbane for the 2022 AYWPC, St Rita’s team will try to continue building on the performance seen during the Brisbane competition and hope that playing on home turf will give them the edge on a strong opposition.

“We are working well as a team and we want to continue playing good quality Water Polo,'' Wall said. “Many of our players are vying for national selection, so that performance aspect is considered also.”

The AYWPC are one of the hallmark events on Water Polo Australia’s national calendar, with the first two editions of the festival showing how they also represent an opportunity for the whole Australian water polo community to come together and showcase the strength of pathway programs.

Wall said that ever since Brisbane was announced as the host of the 2032 Olympic Games, being able to continue developing players into adulthood has become even more important.

“We are always looking to strengthen pathways into high performance sport for the girls that are wishing to pursue that dream, and it is even more front-of-mind for the athletes as the countdown to Brisbane 2032 continues,” she 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.