CHS15s Girls Waterpolo

On the 22nd of October, our enthusiastic team of eleven arrived at Ryde Aquatic Centre, optimistic and ready for a day of fun-filled water polo. This was preceded by over three terms of learning and preparation to properly attack and defend in the water polo scenario.

As we walked through the entrance, scanning the centre for competition, it dawned on us that the other teams were much bigger and were much more intimidating. In order to show the other teams what we were made of and flaunt the many skills that Ms Wilkins and Mr Semaan had taught us throughout the year, we promptly jumped in the pool and commenced a game of ‘Piggy in the Middle’ as “warm-up”. When the matches commenced, the more recent additions to the team were able to familiarise themselves with the rigorous game, whilst the more seasoned helped to direct the play.

Over the course of the day, there were more defeats than wins, but as we continued, we learnt from previous matches and concluded the round-robin with a victory against one of the hardest teams in the competition, with Anne Sophie in Year 7 and Maia in Year 9 scoring many goals for the win. This win was sufficiently deserved and celebrated with hot chips and lolly snakes.

All in all, throughout the day, the effort put in by all the girls in the team to train for the tournament as well as their increasing ability and experience was evident. Personally, I could not have been prouder of how our team performed.
Thank you to Mr Semaan for coaching us throughout the year, showing up on cold mornings and having to deal with grumpy teenage girls. And to Ms Wilkins, our mentor, our coach, and the person who has been motivating us this whole time, thank you so much for your dedication and commitment to the team, we really appreciate it!

Audrey Truong (Year 9)