Countdown to the AYWPC...Young ACT talents looking forward to experiencing the AYWPC

The Australian water polo community will soon get back together in Brisbane for the 2022 Australian Youth Water Polo Championships and for many of our young water polo talents it will be a unique opportunity to get exposure at the national level, make new friends and enhance their own experience in the sport.

“Our girls have never experienced a competition like this,” explained Jo Fisher, team manager for the Canberra Kraken 14&U Girls squad.

“We’ve been away to competitions in Wagga and in regional NSW, but nothing of this scale.

“Seeing the game at the elite level will give our players even greater insight into the water polo community and the opportunities that are there for them, if they continue to play.”

With a relatively small water polo community in the territory, ACT athletes in the U14 age group tend to play the same teams each year. The AYWPC will give them a chance to play against clubs from right across the country.

“The AYWPC experience will be really valuable for our girls, contributing to improve their skills and enabling them to bring some of those skills back to the local competition. This will enhance not only the competition level, but the experience for other players in those clubs as well,” Fisher added.

The Canberra Krakens 14&U Girls team brings together players from three different clubs, with members of the Gungahlin Dragons, the Canberra Grammar School water polo team and the Tuggeranong Vikings all travelling to Brisbane together. Fisher admitted that the process of putting the roster together wasn’t easy, but has already produced positive outcomes for the players involved.

“The process relied on parent collaboration and parents being really open minded to bringing the girls along. We didn’t know whether we could get enough girls interested in playing that we could actually field a team,” Fisher said.

“But we now have 12 players coming along to the AYWPC, which is fantastic. The girls have already been able to form new friendships across the clubs, which is something that wasn’t happening before.

“Now everybody is very excited about travelling to Brisbane. Having the opportunity to get away and be together as a team is very important and the whole team-bonding experience is something that the girls really haven’t had for the last 18 months or so.

“They’re all super pumped for it, and so are the parents!” 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.

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