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England Juniors win water polo gold in Prague

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Water polo hat
Abbi Smith

England Women’s U17s Water Polo team has won the EU Nations Cup after beating South Africa 12-7 in a thrilling final in Prague on St George’s Day.

Helping the team to victory was Abbi Smith (pictured in action right) who started her journey to international success in the south-west with the Dorset Club of Blandford and now trains with Otter WPC in London and also Salisbury Stingray’s Katy Cutler who, dual registered with Bournemouth SC, has previously competed on behalf of Dorset County in the ASA SouthWest Water Polo Championships.

England raced into an early 4-0 lead and it was an advantage the team never looked like giving up. Defensively sound and superb on the counter, England was too strong for South Africa as they controlled the rest of the match to finish up worthy winners. The champions England played five games, won five (having beaten Switzerland 32-4, Czech Republic 20-1, Germany 23-1 and Denmark 18-1) while dominating the tournament from day one, firing in an incredible 105 goals and conceding only 14.

Photo: Courtesy Richard Clapperton

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Dorset Seniors bring home Jack Jones trophy

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img_4722 Hopes were not riding high for Dorset’s Senior Men’s team at this year’s ASA South West Water Polo Championships. With none of the usual players from Weymouth & Portland available it was left to players mostly from the opposite side of the County to field a team to face the might of Devon and Gloucestershire – however! All six counties in the region had entered a Senior Men’s team so, for each team, the event would be a five game tournament. In the opening game against Somerset the Dorset team got off to a flying start winning 11-2 and with Jackson Mullins scoring seven of the goals. The second match against Gloucestershire was a much closer encounter but, due to a goal in the last minute scored by Matt Lands, resulted in an 8-7 win. The team then faced tournament favourites Cornwall but nevertheless ended with a comfortable 7-4 win, with goals scored by Nathan Perren, Matt Helps and Harrison Mullins. The penultimate match was against Devon and, despite losing with a creditable 6-7, knowing that a last-match win against the 2015 winners Wiltshire would hand Dorset the Championship – and the “Jack Jones” trophy – made for a nail-biting end to the tournament. The final game against Wiltshire started off tight and tense with the first half ending in a 3-3 draw, but the Dorset team used its youth and fitness to power through and pull away in the second half to end with an emphatic 8-3 win. “It’s a great result, one better than our second position last year. What is even more rewarding is that the majority of the teams came up through the age group ranks of Dorset Water Polo,” said David Bradley, Dorset County ASA Water Polo Secretary and long-serving player/coach for Bournemouth Water Polo Club. Water Polo has a long and distinguished history in Dorset and is arguably the location for the world’s first ever structured Water Polo match held in 1876 off Bournemouth Pier. So, 140 years later, it’s an anniversary worth celebrating.
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Photo: Back row (l-r) Matt Helps, Harrison Mullins, Kester Sheppard, Dan Redrupp, Ed Stevens, Matt Lands. Front row (l-r) Stefan Mikaelsson, Jackson Mullins, Nathan Perren, Alex Marsengo, Tim Barnes. Centre stage – the highly prized Jack Jones trophy.
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Gold for West Dorset water polo girls

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Two Dorset water polo players from West Dorset SC helped the ASA SouthWest team to victory at the weekend at the 2016 U14 Inter Regional Water Polo Championships held in Walsall. The ASASW team played and won all five of their matches to become 2016 Champions by beating the Midlands team in the final 13-7. Training with West Dorset WP at Dorchester and at Osprey LC with Weymouth and Portland WPC, thirteen year old Phoebe Jones and eleven year old Amelia Jones were both selected during trials held earlier in the year in Exeter. This was Phoebe’s first major competition although she has represented both Dorset and West Dorset in water polo previously, and regularly swims for Weymouth Swimming club. Being a year younger than the rest of the team, Amelia was a surprise selection and the event her first taste of competing. Both girls have now been nominated to attend for training selection trials at the ASASW Regional Water Polo Academy. img_0634 Caption: (l-r) Phoebe Jones and Amelia Jones.
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South West team demolishes opposition

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The South West Youth team returned from the ASA Inter-Regional Water Polo Youth Championships as national champions after demolishing the opposition at the Cardiff International Pool on 15/16 January. The initial draw saw the South West in the tougher of the two preliminary round groups but the first match against East Midlands saw the team steadily pull away to a 16-2 win. The second match against North West (B) was an all together tougher affair with the two sides struggling for supremacy, but astute rotation of the squad by the South West coach ensured the team outran the opposition to a 8-6 win. And with a final 9-6 win against the East region squad, the South West team finished the day unbeaten and seeded at the top end of the semi-final draw. Day two was no less impressive. The South West took an early lead in the semi-final against Wales finishing with a comfortable 24-10 win, setting the team up for a final against pre-tournament co-favourites North West (B). And after a turbulent first quarter which saw its’ keeper excluded from the game, the South West team continued to grow in confidence to take control of the match, dismissing their northern rivals with an impressive 22-10 win. Dorset was the second strongest represented county in the regional squad with three players – George Sparks (Bridport Barracudas), Elliot Wilks and Sam Webber (both Seagulls) – all of whom returned home with one of the most prized awards in UK water polo – a national gold medal!
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Dorset trio selected for England Talent Squad

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Following outstanding performances at trials in Cardiff, three Dorset water polo players have been selected for the England Talent Squad. Cianan Mann, Jackson Mullins and Charlie Roberts, all from Christchurch Seagulls, are among only 20 players nationwide who made it through the first round pick of players. The trio survived an exhaustive set of tests and drills to earn selection for a squad that is open to boys born in 1996 and 1997. Over the coming term they will now join other established players from that age group in a series of training camps at which they will have to continue to compete for their places on the squad. Meanwhile, Seagulls’ Megan Fletcher has been invited to take part in trials for the equivalent girls’ squad at Crystal Palace. These selections come less than a year after another Seagulls’ player, Sam Webber, made it into Britain’s international development squads and won a bronze medal in an international tournament in Hungary.
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Regional silvers for Dorset

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he 2010 ASASWR Water Polo Championships held in December has resulted in a silver medal for Dorset’s Junior Men’s team. Competing against Somerset, Gloucester and Devon, all county sides with a long history of water polo competition, this was only Dorset’s fourth intercounty tournament. The first game against Somerset was a relatively low scoring match ending with a 4-5 loss but the match against Gloucestershire, normally a stronger side than Somerset, resulted in a 7-4 win which was a considerable achievement. Dorset were then straight back into the pool against Devon – by far the strongest side that had easily overcome Gloucestershire, demolished Somerset and had been resting – which resulted in a 12-9 defeat, and Dorset’s best performance ever. With Somerset and Gloucestershire both finishing with the same number of points, Dorset took silver on goal difference – the first medal by a Dorset team in the Championships! Dorset also entered the ASASWR Mixed Academy 14&U Championships against the two established counties of Devon and Gloucestershire with a record of not having beaten either county in any of the last three championships. The match against Gloucestershire proved frustrating and five early goals before Dorset started scoring proved too much of a deficit to overcome resulting in a 20-12 loss. However the match with Devon proved an entirely different prospect. Dorset got off to a good start and notched up ten goals before Devon could respond, resulting in a magnificent 6-23 win for Dorset – and another silver regional medal for a Dorset side. Dorset Junior Men’s Team: Oliver Bowen-Ashwin, Matt Cracknell, Joe Foale-Groves, Dustin Mackay, Jack Murray-Tyson, Joe Rammage,  James Rogers, George Sparks, Anand Vaithilingham, Sam Webber and Elliot Wilks who was voted Best Overall Player. Dorset Mixed Academy Team: Christian Flavell, Emily Jack, Ciannan Mann, Charlie Roberts, Mikey Kingsley, Jackson Mullins, Megan Fletcher, Josh Marshall, Billy Uppard, Rhys Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Bowerman
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Seagulls scoop silver

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In a stunning weekend of water polo, Christchurch Seagulls simultaneously took silver medals in two of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. Seagulls U19 squad arrived at the ASASWR Championships in Exeter looking to improve on their fourth place from 2010.  The draw saw Seagulls go head-to-head with tournament favourites Cheltenham in the first match of the day and in a pulsating game both sides swapped scores with neither team getting ahead by more than one goal until with less than two minutes to go Cheltenham pushed ahead, scoring twice in the last 30 seconds to take a thrilling match 8-5. Seagulls bounced back with close wins over both Barnstaple and old rivals Exeter to fix a final round match against local counterparts Bridport.  Seagulls, needing a win to secure the silver medal, struggled to find their rhythm in the first half but bouncing back after half time, played their usual brand of fast, free flowing water polo to score at ease throughout the second half winning 11-1. At the end of the tournament coach Tony Kingsley said, “This is a fantastic result for us.  The first medal in this age group by a Dorset side.  Three of our usual first team players were away with the SW academy side so bring this team here and take silver is special.” At the same time on the other side of the country three Seagulls players were part of the South West U16 squad contesting the Inter-regional championships in Basildon. Jackson Mullins, Charlie Roberts and Cianan Mann helped ease the South West side through the preliminary rounds to secure a place in the semi-final and in a tough semi-final overcame the North East to set up the final against pre-tournament favourites North West.  The final, however, was just one step too far as the South West lost 6-5 in a tight match – a repeat of the 2010 result. Seagulls U19 Squad: Charles Elderfield, David Gallagher, Joe Foale-Groves, Mikey Kingsley, Josh Lay, James Rogers, Anand Vaithilingham, Sam Webber, Elliot Wilks,