Water Polo Extravaganza before Summer Break

EU Mens Water Polo Cup, Brno, Czech Republic

CSWPC’s Rudi Polster and David Taylor attended the EU Mens Water Polo Cup at the end of June. This tournament was a preparation tournament for the World University Summer Games. Twelve teams were taking part the format was two groups of 6 teams, each teams placing in the group decided its play off position. England were in Group B with some very experienced teams.

First match was against Lithuania. A few defensive lapses proved costly for England. Lithuania pulled away in the 2nd half to secure a 18-13 victory. Next up was Switzerland. England made a great recovery after being 3-1 down in the first quarter. A fantastic performance from the young England side but not quite enough to secure victory, final score 9-8 to Switzerland. Austria was the next to face England. A harsh defeat for the young English team who pushed the more experienced and physical Austrians but just didn’t find a way through. Final score a close 7-6 to Austria. Next was USA (Los Angeles Athletic Club). Another tough work out for the young English side which is all valuable experience ahead of the Summers World University Games. 19-8 win for USA. The final group game was against Luxembourg. A professional performance from England, they controlled the match throughout and comfortably won each quarter. Final score 23-5 to England. England finished 5th in Group B. This took them into the 9th -12th play offs with a tantalising clash with local rivals Wales to start with. Another impressive performance from the England team dominating every quarter and securing their second successive win. Final score 28-8 to England. This victory secured Englands place in the 9th/10th play offs against Singapore. A dramatic second half saw Englands superior fitness levels show as they fought back from 7-5 down deep in the last quarter. A final goal for England with 37 seconds left secured their final victory for the tournament and 9th place.

World University Summer Games, Naples, Italy

With just over 1 week from EU Nations CSWPC’s Rudi Polster and David Taylor were joined by Dave Edwards (Team Manager) and set off again to the World University Summer Games in Naples, Italy. This time representing Great Britain. The aim for the team was to finish in the top 8. Considering the lack of investment and funding Water Polo has in GB at present this was a big ask!

Great Britain opened their World University Games campaign with a tough 25-1 defeat to Russia. Playing against proven internationals GB put up a decent fight but only 1 goal found the net. The Russians were clinical in their defence with bigger, stronger and faster players, a tough opening match for any team. Next was South Korea. This was a match GB had focused on knowing they may stand a chance. The GB team were on fire with a sensational 17-9 victory. Head coach Tim Dunsbee said although they had a good victory the team need to focus on their game management the last quarter was not as good as it should have been. Next GB faced the might of the USA, one of the giants of International Water Polo. GB really put a shift in and at half time the score was a reasonable 2-5 to USA. In the third quarter the difference in the experience and the training of the USA team shone through as they took control of the match. Final score GB 3 – USA 17. A tough match the GB players should be very proud of their performance. The next match was France. The team were hopeful that they could perform like they did in the first half of the USA match throughout this match. Sadly a great second half was not enough to secure a victory and GB lost 15-9 to France. This meant GB finished 4th in their group and faced Japan. Playing a well drilled, quick and efficient Japan GB put in a huge defensive shift and were unfortunate to lose by such a margin. Final score 18-10 to Japan. GB face South Korea in the 9th/10th play off. GB started with a strong attack finishing the first half 6-0 up. Their lead continued with an impressive final score 15-7 to GB. A really strong finish to end the tournament. Tim Dunsbee, Head Coach, again said that “the boys now requirement investment and continuation of training together. Great Britain needs to continue participating in these international events to gain experience like the power teams of the world have. We have a great building block here we need to utilise it.”

CSWPC’s Water Polo Festival Days

On Saturday 13th July CSWPC held the 4th Annual Mixed Masters Tournament. Six mens teams  from over the UK entered forming two groups.

Group A

Cheltenham

London Polytechnic

Worcester Crocodiles

Group B

Bristol & Welsh

Coventry

British Police

CSWPC won their group and semi final facing London Polytechnic again in the final. A great game ensued with CSWPC winning 7-4. Well done to the Men’s Masters team Mike Cowdell, James Ross, Stu McKie, Mike Thomas, Max Germismov, Tony Coleby, Jules Bewley, Mark Taylor, Mark Banwell, Ivan Rodgeuiz-Macarno, Andy McAllister & Lee Barnes.

Not to be left out there was also a showcase tournament for the ladies teams. CSWPC’s young National League side got some valuable experience playing Solihull and the Barbarians team.

On Saturday 20th July 10 teams from all over the UK arrived at Sandford Parks Lido for the 4th Annual U14 Water Polo tournament Hosted by CSWPC.

The luck was with us again and the weather was dry with some sunny intervals and with a live DJ on site creating a partisan atmosphere. The 10 teams were split into two groups –

Group A                                                                                                     Group B

Winners Cheltenham                                                                             Winners Devonport

Runners up Watford                                                                              Runners up Sedgefield

3rd Grantham                                                                                          3rd Northampton

4th Chelmsford                                                                                       4th Watford

5th Boldmere                                                                                          5th Nottingham

Gold Medal Match

Devonport 4 Cheltenham 1

Bronze Medal Match

Sedgefield 7 Watford 5

Final placings –

1st Devonport

2nd Cheltenham

3rd Sedgefield

4th Watford

5th Northampton

6th Grantham

7th Chelmsford

8th Taunton Deane 

9th Nottingham

10th Boldmere

What a day of great Water Polo at this superb venue, everyone had a fantastic day in and out of the water. 

Congratulations to the Cheltenham team – Zac Downer, Aaron Downer, Alice Tubby, Louie McKie, Harrison Walsh, Freya Webster, Thomas Webster, Harry Barber, Rex Lewis, Lily Ross, Sam Handley & Liam Barnes.

League Updates

CSWPC had only one match for the Midland Junior league this month, against Northampton Y at home. Falling on a day that some of the team were returning from inter regionals it was going to be a good test of team strength. Luckily the breadth of skill in CSWPC’s young players was strong and they won 11-8. The top three positions of the league is very tight and will go right down to the wire, anything can happen between Worcester, Solihull and Cheltenham. We wait with baited breath to hear the results.

CSWPC Ladies had 3 matches for BWWPL league. First was a long trip to Teignmouth Lido on a Monday night. Eight brave ladies underwent the trip but sadly lost to Newton Abbot 16-13. Next they faced Cwm Draig at home. An amazing 10 goals from Amy Berry secured CSWPC’s first win of the season. Final score 18-4 to Cheltenham. Finally the ladies faced a very physical game at home against Welsh Wanderers. The team currently top of the league, it was going to be a struggle but the ladies put up a good fight in the first half. Final score 5-14 to Welsh Wanderers. CSWPC finally move off the bottom of the table with their first win, well done ladies.

Cheltenham Spartans had one home game against Newport Seniors. A fast paced match, the men did very well enabling  the younger boys to take part and gain valuable experience. An outstanding 14-10 win. CSWPC’s Spartans  still clearly top the the table for the Men’s Premier Division.

National Academy

National Academy is moving from its traditional home of Millfield this year to Eger. A 7 day camp for 53 talented 2004 boys and girls finishing with a two day tournament with 5 other teams. Good luck and make the most of this experience to the following CSWPC players Harry Mason, Lorcan Halstead, Danial Day, George Glover, Gigi Boskett-Williams and Charlotte Martin. Outstanding training and commitment should lead to selection for the England team taking part in the North Sea Cup in September 2019. CSWPC coach John Spicer will also be attending the camp, brilliant representation from the club!

U16’s Inter Regional Weekends

Both the boys and the girls U16 Inter Regional Tournaments took place in Blackpool this month. The boys finished 5th with 4 losses (West Midlands 13-9 South West, London 20-12 South West, North West Tigers 20-9 South West, North East Steelers 18-14 South West). Fielding quite a young team the South West Boys will be relegated to division 2 the next time this age group is played. I Well done to the following CSWPC players who were selected for the South West Regional team – Harry Mason, Harry Barber, Zack Downer & Arron Downer. 

 

The girls also finished 5th with 4 losses (South West 9-29 North East Steelers, South West 3-18 South East Anderida, London 12-2 South West, North West Thunder 19-6 South West). Again most of the players were a year out of age. Congratulations to Sofia Fountain who was awarded MVP (Most Valuable Player) for the region. Like the boys the girls will now play in Division 2 the next time this age group play. Well done to the following CSWPC players who were selected for the South West Regional Team – Gigi Boskett-Williams, Sofia Fountain, Katy Daly, Freya Webster & Alice Tubby.