Geraldton take home experience and good results from Youth Water Polo Championships

The Australian Youth Water Polo Championships came to a close in Perth, with Geraldton players enjoying good results in what was the largest gathering of water polo talent in Australia. Geraldton sent one boys and one girls squad to compete in the under-16 division. with Dylan Prout and Wade Kalajzich taking the coaching reins. They were impressed with the skills on display and despite being one of the smallest of the 141 national clubs sent to the championship, believed Geraldton water polo would benefit greatly from the experience. “We have 24 U-16 teenagers returning to Geraldton with new friends, a strong passion for their sport alongside experience that was next to none,” they said. “This is an exciting time for the Geraldton water polo community with plans already starting to send teams to Brisbane next January for the AYWPC competition.” The girls squad finished 11th out of 15 teams with a win over the Triton Tasmanian team 10-1 in their placing final to finish with a 2-5 record. Evie Prout had an impressive championships with 13 goals from seven games with Tessa O’Malley next-best with six goals. The boys finished in sixth place with a 2-1-4 record, losing their fifth-placed play-off game with Gold Coast 12-8. Leo Prout and Callum Sojan scored 14 goals each, with Jimmy Horsman next-best with 11. Five players also competed in the under-18 division with UWA water polo club taking them on board. Club spokesperson Julia Gourley was over the moon with both the teams’ performances and the commitment shown by the association members. “This committee is passionate about our juniors and growing our junior competition. It has been months of preparation and dedication and we look forward to seeing what is next,” she said. “This could not have happened without the support of the Masters Committee who held the Masters competition last year and fundraised for the AYWPC entry fees. We want to thank all the teams who came to Geraldton and our own teams for their support.” Next year’s championships will take place from January 5-16 in Brisbane.