Junior players from Noosa Water Polo competed in the Sunshine Coast Lake Series Water Polo event last weekend, hosted by Buderim Water Polo Club.
The event also included teams from Auckland’s North Harbour Club.
While it was an Under 14 event, all bar one of the Noosa team were Under 12s, but they never shrank from the challenge and made significant progress as a team and individually.
Unfortunately, due to the poor weather last week, a last-minute decision had to be made to relocate the event from the Lake at Twin Waters to the alternative venue at Nambour Aquatic Centre.
A big shout out to Lila Robertson and the Buderim Club for organising and managing such a great weekend of water polo.
Lantana Knight, who was the youngest participant, played for a team from Alstonville (NSW) and fully deserved her bronze medal after a nail-biting penalty shoot-out in the final.
The Noosa boys’ team, may have lost all of their games, but their coach, Adam Mullins; team manager, Alasdair Scott and all the families could not have been prouder of their resilience and determination in every game.
In the bronze medal match on Sunday afternoon against a strong Sunshine Coast team; following the loss of goal keeper, Mathis Vidal-Wallace to injury in the previous game and his brother Will, the boys were offered a choice to forfeit or play with no subs.
The unanimous decision was to ‘go for it’ – and they then produced their best and gutsiest performance of the tournament!
Congratulations to Finlay Hallchurch, Phoenix Kotsifas, Caleb Randall, Elroy Savege, Jake Taylor, Lachlan Wood, Mathis Vidal-Wallace, William Vidal-Wallace for their participation and progress in this event.
Special congratulations to Lantana Knight for rising to the challenge of playing with a new team and playing so well.
Representing Noosa in the Sunshine Coast girls’ team were Mikayla Ison, Chrissy McNee, Kitty Orban and Mia Von Homeyer, who lost to North Harbour Girls’ team in the keenly contested final, but fully merited their Silver medals. Well done girls!
Noosa Water Polo Club is grateful for the ongoing support from Noosa Council and a recent successful grant application enabled the club to purchase new caps and balls – which certainly came in handy when the club hosted the New Zealand visitors in a special training session last Thursday. For more information on Noosa Water Polo, contact waterpolonoosa@gmail.com
