The Under 16 boys’ team began the London Winter League season with two games against Monson and Croydon Amphibians. Beckenham started with a comfortable 11 – 4 win over Monson. The boys then produced a very strong performance in an exciting match with the pre tournament favourites Croydon and were unlucky to lose 5 – 4 in the end. The team have 3 further games in November and will be aiming for a top half finish in the group to earn a place in the play-offs.

Team: Louis Phillips, Tom Redfern, Harold & Freddie Pearson, Rob & Henry Simpson, Ajay Kapur, Nick Moore and Isaac Edey.

• Winter u16 division South 2011/12

Our U14 water polo team easily won the Kent Championships. (Beckenham Breams are our B Team). Two weeks earlier the Beckenham U16s also won. Here are the results of the U14 competition.

 

Woolwich Trophy 2011

Swanley 1st October 2011

Beckenham	13	Beckenham Breams	0
Folkestone	3	Hythe/Bexley/Monson	2
Dover	4	Beckenham	3
Dover	5	Folkestone	3
Hythe/Bexley/Monson	4	Beckenham Breams	4
Beckenham	8	Dover	1
Beckenham	6	Folkestone	0
Hythe/Bexley/Monson	3	Dover	5
Folkestone	4	Beckenham Breams	1
Beckenham	10	Hythe/Bexley/Monson	1

 

Final Table	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	+/-	Points
Beckenham	4	4	0	0	+35	12
Dover	4	3	0	1	-2	9
Folkstone	4	2	0	2	-4	6
Hythe/Bexley/Monson	4	0	1	3	-12	1
Beckenham Breams	4	0	1	3	-17	1

 

Winners: Beckenham

 

The launch of the search for teams of Water Polo Young Makers to be involved as Ball Retrievers at the London 2012 Olympic Games took place earlier this week.

British Swimming are looking for 5 teams of 6 people – each team consists of 4 Young Games Makers and 2 Team Leaders – all of whom must be registered members of the ASA, Scottish Swimming or Swim Wales. This offer is not open to the general public . YGMs need to be 16 years or over on 1 July 2012 and under 18 years on 1 January 2012. Team leaders must be 18 years or over on 1 January 2012. The Primary team leader must submit the application on behalf of the whole team.

Closing date is 7 October 2011 so get your team together now!

For further information including application form, role descriptions and FAQs please go to the link below on the British Swimming Website:

http://www.swimming.org/britishswimming/news/london-2012/wanted-teams-of-young-games-makers-to-make-the-games-happen/10812/

Matilda Williams who won 'most improved player' at Beckenham Polo for 2010/11.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report from the NewsShopper

SEVERAL students at Langley Park School for Girls have enjoyed county and national success in their individual sports.

Emily Grant began playing water polo at Beckenham Swimming Club.

The Year 10 student plays for Invicta Ladies in Division Three of the national league and also represents Langley Park at rounders, netball and fencing.

She was recently selected for the England water polo development squad after trials against 70 girls from across the country.

Click here to read more .....

 

Matilda Williams, Juliet Edey and Emily Grant, all Beckenham waterpolo players, playing both junior and senior ladies polo for Beckenham, got through the first round selection for the England Talent Development Squad. They had a hard day of waterpolo on Saturday in Cardiff and now have a 3 day selection at the end of the month. There were players from all the regional training squads ( RTC's) in Cardiff being assessed to get through to the next stage. Well done to all 3 and good luck for the next stage.

 

The National Age Group Water Polo Club Championships have been underway over the last month, and a massive congratulations to the Beckenham 14yrs and under girls, who competed with our sister club Invicta Water Polo at the Manchester Aquatics Center on Saturday 26th March. Juliet Edey, Monica Wilson, Megan Shelts and Ellee Spencer-Boyce, were all part of the Silver Medal winning team. Playing 4 games the team won vs Tyldesley 8-2, vs Liverpool 7-2 and vs Durham 15-0. The deciding game vs Manchester, saw the team just edge out on experience 9-4, but nonetheless a fantastic achievement by the girls .... Well done!

The previous weekend had seen the 18 and under Invicta team (including Beckenham girls Rosie Taylor, Sophie Monaghan-Coombes, Matilda Williams, Emily Grant), obtain a creditable 4th place spot in Liverpool. The final competition is this Sunday in Walsall, the 16yrs and under team looking to go one better!

Rich

(Beckenham & Invicta Ladies Water Polo Coach)

 

Great Britain will have two water polo teams at London 2012, British Olympic Association officials have announced. Despite winning four golds in the early part of the last century, it will be 66 years since Great Britain last participated in the water polo events at the Olympics, when they finished seventh out of eight.

The decision follows consultation between Team GB and British Swimming to ensure both team's would produce credible performances worthy of a host nation invite. However, water polo saw its UK Sport funding cut at the start of the Olympic cycle with the majority of the funds pumped into the more successful women's team, which is based in Manchester ...

... click here to read more

... click here to read the comments of GB captain Craig Figes on WaterPoloUK

If Sean King stays fit and in contention, he could well become our first Water Polo Olympian!!!!

 

The U12 team secured their second successive win in the London Winter League on Sunday 6th February 2011 at Whitgift School.

The league was played over four evenings during November, December, January and February. The last round did not disappoint with three convincing victories which was enough to retain the title amounting 44 points out of a possible 45.

Despite injuries and the unavailability of players, the squad battled through some very tough encounters.

There were a total of fifteen games, Beckenham won fourteen and drew one, scoring a massive 69 goals and only conceding 13.

The following played over four evenings:

Sasha Tinkler Davies (captain), Isaac Edey (Goal Keeper), Freddie Pearson, James Spencer Boyce , Henry Simpson, Harry Lampert, Laurie Pope, Nicholas Shoppee, Harry Haynes, Jack Forryan, Lucy Grant, Katie Grant, Edward Leach and William Burn.

The team played extremely well throughout and can take great pride in their achievement.

Sasha was the captain for the tournament and played consistently well and was instrumental in defence. She played solidly throughout and is developing into a very good player.

Isaac was the goal keeper and kept numerous clean sheets, even when he played out of goal he managed to score goals. This achievement can not be overstated as Isaac at times was put under great pressure and pulled off some remarkable saves.

Freddie Pearson was the top goal scorer and was very influential in every game. His commitment and energy was at times breath taking.

James played solidly through out scoring a number of goals and also covered as goal keeper for the odd match.

Henry Simpson was a power house showing a tremendous amount of commitment which was also rewarded with goals. His passing and interplay with Freddie was great.

Harry Lampert was an improving player during the tournament, and was missed during the last games. Harry was awarded the Collins Trophy for his continuing development in the game and was rewarded with a goal in the previous round.

Laurie Pope was new to the squad but worked extremely hard despite being put under a great deal of pressure by the opposition, again rewarded with a goal which was great to see.

Nicholas Shoppee was another new player who contributed a great deal through out. Both Jackie and I were very pleased with his development through out.

Harry Haynes yet another new player to the squad who again showed great deal of enthusiasm and good play, again rewarded with a goal in an earlier round

Jack Forryan yet another new player to the squad who again showed great deal of enthusiasm and good play, again rewarded with more than one goal in the tournament.

Lucy Grant was a key player who was missed in round three but returned and her impact on the games were noticeable. She played extremely well and was a great asset to the team.

Katie Grant played in the first round and gave a solid performance; although not able to play any other rounds she made a great impression and will be a key player in the future.

Edward Leach played the first two rounds, but an injury prevented him from playing the last two. Again another solid player who was missed. We wish him a speedy recovery.

William Burn played extremely well in the first two rounds scoring goals and creating several for other players. Again injury prevented him playing any further part.

I would like to thank all the players and parents for their support. It’s been an exciting four months and it is has been a pleasure to be part of the coaching team. I would also like to thank Jackie for all her support and tactical knowledge, which was so vital.

David Spencer Boyce

Well done to the Ladies Senior team in what proved to be a very strong tournament last Sunday. A 9-0 defeat to a Penguin (2-0 at half-time) team including their National League 1st/2nd Division teams is not as bad as the score line would suggest. The 5-2 defeat against Sutton & Cheam was more the low point (their "ringer" goalkeeper did seem to be the difference). 4-2 against Mid-Sussex, again including their Nat League Div 2 side is not enough to get despondent about either, so well done all round. . . Onto the marathon which is this weekend.

 

Juliet Edey, Winner of Development squad Coaches award 2010, awarded by Coach Simon Woolley.

 

27/11/10 South Derbyshire 15 - 3 Invicta Ladies

27/11/10 Caledonia 16 - 3 Invicta Ladies

28/11/10 Liverpool Water Beatles 8 - 6 Invicta Ladies

 

The fourth National League weekend (27/28 November), the last before Christmas, proved to have little festive cheer for the Invicta Ladies team with three disappointing defeats. The biggest frustration was the opportunity missed. Narrow losses to S. Derbyshire and Liverpool in earlier weekends, had meant the return games in Walsall were potential for points.

The weekend could not have gotten off to a worse start with a 15-3 defeat at the the hands of the midland side. One could point to referees, especially having out-majored most teams this season; bizarrely the “majors-won” count was Derbyshire (8) versus Invicta (1)! The truth however is we played like a team that had never met. Possession given cheaply, individual errors across the board and a general lack of awareness. Enough said – albeit on the plus side major conversion was 100%!!!!

The second Saturday game was therefore going to be tricky against top-of-the-table Caledonia fresh from a shock defeat against 3rd placed Otter. Would there be a backlash? An improved team performance saw Invicta out-major their Scottish opponents for the second time this season. End of quarter 1 the score was 2-2 and a feeling another shock might be on! However conversion of majors again played a big part; 1 in 9 converted for Invicta, versus Caley’s 5 in 7, tells its own story. Final scoreline 16-3.

The final game of the year (but not of the season) was against Liverpool on the Sunday, and it was like a new team had arrived! Going down 3-0 in the first quarter had a familiar feel to it, but then pulling it back at the mid-way point to 3-2 was a fantastic effort. More character shown, as well as greater tactical awareness, kept the scoreline tight. Gradually experience told though, with Liverpool running out winners 8-6. A much better team performance, with some great individual displays too.

So 4 out of 5 tournaments down, one remaining weekend in Manchester on Jan 22/23. The results mean that is now virtually inevitable we will face a play-off in Walsall on 29/30th January. The play off is planned for Walsall on Saturday 29 Jan. It would be prudent to keep Sunday 30 Jan free as well – just on the off chance that there is a change to the programme (especially in light of changes due to snowfall). Please aim to keep the weekend free now. It’ll be key to keep an eye on the training schedule, which will be available within the next week. There are competition dates in January that we are working around to ensure we get the most effective sessions in, please keep a look out for emails on this.

Rich

 

Those involved from Beckenham were: Anna Newell, Rosie Tayler, Holly Campbell, Emily Grant, Matilda Williams, Sophie Monaghan-Coombs .....

The third National League weekend for Invicta had a local feel to it with Watford as the venue. We also had some additional faces in the gallery cheering us on – a big thank you to our supporters

And first up was the ‘local’ derby against Otter Ladies II. Many familiar faces from the regional leagues, Invicta got off to a good start against the 3rd placed team in the league. Not wholly outshone but strength and experience saw Otter lead 8-4 at the halfway point. Majors flying around like they were out-of-fashion for both teams – the number of majors conceded by Invicta in this one game (18), was one less conceded in the entire weekend of 3 games in Blackpool!

Otter scored 7 goals off their majors, their conversion somewhat better than it looks considering multiple majors on our part were conceded simultaneously. Inevitably that major trouble – 4 players wrapped up by the end of the game – meant the last quarter was somewhat incidental, Otter running out 16-7 winners.

After such an eventful game for the spectator (and not so much for the players), the Saturday evening game against second placed Carlisle, was probably a little low key. After racing away to a 4-1 lead, a mature and disciplined performance saw the Invicta girls edge themselves back into the game. With 3.20 on the clock in the last quarter the score was 6-3, the girls secured a man up. The key moment here being a quick changeover in possession, unfortunately finishing up an 8-4 defeat.

Sunday and the big game against Birmingham, this the bottom of the table clash! Having won the return fixture in Blackpool, expectations were high. The game would very much be determined by which team wanted the game more. Invicta never went behind during the game, but neither could they edge enough clear to be comfortable. Barring a very good display by the Birmingham keeper the game could well have been over by half time. This despite the game becoming a scrappy affair, with little real fluency. The girls managed to hold on for a 7-6 victory.

The next weekend now (27/28 Nov – Walsall) becomes a key one, with a real opportunity against Liverpool and S. Derbyshire to gain more points. Also crucial will be the priority training session at Crystal Palace on the Sunday 21st Nov (3-5pm) to achieve this.

Rich

Beckenham’s Sean King who now plays professionally in Germany has been playing for Great Britain’s Men’s Water Polo team, in their European Championship 2012 Qualifiers. Reports on their progress can be found on the British Swimming Website.

The Under 12 team started the London Winter league by winning their first 3 games on Sunday at Whitgift school. Well done to all the players, many of whom had never played a match before. Good luck for the next tournament on 12th December.

The Under 14 and Under 16 teams are both ahead in the points for their age group in the Winter League. The 16/Under team won the Kent Cup on Saturday at Swanley. They won all games but one which they drew. Well done to the team and coach, Simon Woolley. The 14/Under team also won this tournament a few weeks ago, so Beckenham are dominating Kent and London League so far this year.  Well done players and Coaches!

This weekend many Beckenham players join with other Kent players to play for Invicta in the National league at Watford. Good Luck girls!

 

17/10/10 Invicta Ladies 4-10 Caledonia (National League)

16/10/10 Invicta Ladies 6-12 Cardiff (National League)

16/10/10 Invicta Ladies 7-11 Liverpool Water Beatles (National League)

 

The second weekend of Ladies National League provided another weekend of ups and downs for the Invicta Ladies team ......

It started with the afternoon game against Liverpool "C" (now known as Liverpool Water Beetles). A strong performance, against a team mixed with experienced ex-GB internationals and new juniors, saw the Invicta team never behind in the first 3 quarters, despite some inexperienced refereeing. At times 2 goals ahead, the opposition dug in and kept their game plan to ensure the score was 6-6 going into the last quarter.

3 all-square quarters, followed by the 4th seeing us going down 5-1. . . Final score 11-7 to Liverpool. That said the game was in our hands, and should have been killed off in the 3rd quarter with 2 majors (out of the 4 awarded to us in the game) not converted. The performance was very good throughout the team and was encouraging going into the second game.

The second performance however was not at that same level against Cardiff. The story here simple; Cardiff awarded 4 majors - scored 3. . . Invicta awarded 6 majors - scored 1! The takeaway all round to remain calm and positive under pressure. A 12-6 defeat.

The third and final game on Sunday was against Caledonia, fresh from their victory in the top-of-the-table clash against Carlisle, at this point making them the best team in the division. For Invicta it would prove a big test, against adaptable strong opposition, and in recovering from the setback against Cardiff. A much improved performance saw the Scottish opponents frustrated particularly on the switch from press to zone in the second quarter. Again Invicta out-majored the team; Caley 9 majors, Invicta 5. . . Conversion was better than previous games, though work to do though.

3 losses that could have been a much different story going into weekend 3. I'm confident in the ability and character shown, and with so many opportunities being created that there will be a team shortly on the wrong end of a backlash of the frustrations to date. Thanks again to Candy and Ken for their logistics and organisation of the weekend, and to the whole team for their efforts in amongst the challenges faced. Let's keep focused now on our priority session and the weekend 3 at Watford."

Rich

 

The Beckenham Ladies involved in the second weekend were: Anna Newell (c), Emily Grant, Holly Campbell, Matilda Williams (Gk), Sophie Monaghan-Coombes and Clare le Voir

 

26/09/10 Invicta Ladies 4-5 South Derbyshire (National League)

25/09/10 Invicta Ladies 4-14 Carlisle (National League)

25/09/10 Invicta Ladies 8-6 Brimingham (National League)

 

The Beckenham Ladies involved in the first weekend were: Anna Newell (c), Emily Grant, Holly Campbell and Matilda Williams. . .

Report from Gregg Candy-Wallace

I would like to start this email with a big thank you to you all for attending the first of five week end especially Blackpool, as it is a very long way to go for two days. Also a big thanks you to Richard also for his commitment and words of wisdom, And a big Thanks to Ken who acted as Team Manager for the weekend, and to me for arrangements in Advance. A big well done to you all.

On Sunday I had a long chat with Richard regarding your First weekend that got underway in Blackpool,we discussed the weekend overall and performance wise we would describe it as somewhat of a mixed weekend.

First game up against Birmingham involved a well-fought victory. Going into the last quarter 6-4 down, but turning it around to an 8-6 win, showing great character in the process was most definitely the highlight. Well Done Girls.

A tough game followed against Carlisle, whom we believe will go on to win the league. Their progressive set up of juniors was a class act and they romped away to a 14-4 victory. Other teams went down by similar score lines at the hands of Carlisle, and I'm sure others will over the course of the next 4 tournaments.

Onto Sunday, and being the last game on there was certainly a quieter Atmosphere for our final game against Derbyshire. Unfortunately it resulted in a disappointing 5-4 defeat, the final goal scored with 1.15 left on the Clock. It was a game we were in control of throughout - much more attacking Opportunities and possession. The Sunday Morning hangover curse again here - the takeaway is to avoid it happening again, and I'm sure that will be the case over the remaining weekends. . . We'll also be doing more work on converting our Man ups before the next tournament on the 10th October 3-5 this will be a priority session guys.

The Blackpool event was very well organised by the league, a good venue and all round a good first tournament. A few national league debuts saw our younger girls up their game, well choraled on by our more seasoned players.

 

Beckenham’s 14 and under water polo team are celebrating winning the Kent tournament at White Oak on Saturday 18th September. They won all their games and so retained their Kent title. This year in addition to individual medals, there was a special award to the player of the tournament and this went to Beckenham’s Matilda Williams. Beckenham’s second team narrowly missed out on achieving second place as they were headed by Hythe by just one extra goal in the goals difference column. Our parents also would have won a trophy for cheering the most had there been an award for this but instead they just took home great memories of a long and successful night!

 

Match	Blue	White	Score
1	Beckenham A	Hythe	11 - 1
2	Sevenoaks/Monson	Beckenham B	0 - 10
3	Beckenham A	Beckenham B	8 - 1
4	Beckenham A	Sevenoaks/Monson	11 - 0
5	Sevenoaks/Monson	Hythe	2 - 9
6	Hythe	Beckenham B	3 - 2
7	Beckenham A	Hythe	4 - 1
8	Sevenoaks/Monson	Beckenham B	0 - 9
9	Beckenham A	Beckenham B	9 - 0
10	Beckenham A	Sevenoaks/Monson	10 - 0
11	Sevenoaks/Monson	Hythe	0 - 10
12	Hythe	Beckenham B	3 - 4

 

Teams	P	W	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
Beckenham ‘A’	6	6	0	53	3	+50	18
Hythe	6	3	3	27	23	+4	9
Beckenham ‘B’	6	3	3	26	23	+3	9
Sevenoaks/Monson	6	0	6	2	59	-57	0

 

‘Fred Holehouse Shield’ for player of the tournament - Matilda Williams

 

Sophie Monaghan Coombs who won 'most improved player' at Beckenham Polo for 09/10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Beckenham Ladies team played in the first round of the London league on Sunday against Worthing, Southampton and Hammersmith Penguin IV (yes, it really is called the London league!). The team lost all their games but each game was a well fought match with a close score. The Beckenham team was very young and had an average age of 18 years. Take away the 43 yr old Goalie, the average age was only 15yrs! This was noted by the opposition and comments were made on how much Beckenham had improved and that they are a team to watch in the future.

This is a great comment, not only for the girls who played their hearts out, but for the Coaching team of Richard Collins and Anna Newell who have been working incredibly hard with the Ladies team over the last year.

The girls played a really good press defence which made the Goalie’s job easier but the general consensus from players, the Coach and the great parent supporters, was that the team needs to gain confidence in attack. This is something to work on for the next 2 rounds.

Remember next time girls, SHOOT, SHOOT,SHOOT!

Congratulations to the senior and junior ladies teams, who both achieved second places respectively in the London League Winter tournaments this year. Each of the competitions was held at Whitgift School and proved to be a series of highly competitive games. The squads coped with the demands, in some cases players playing a total of 6 games per Sunday tournament.

As the competition grows each year, the torunaments have proved a great development success across the age groups. Both teams next outings will be in the summer London League competitions imminently upon us.

 

Richard Collins (Ladies Coach)

Anna Newell (Ladies Team Manager & Senior Captain).

 

Ladies Senior Results

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Otter Ladies 3s	6	6	0	0	57	12	45	18
2	Beckenham Ladies 1s	6	3	0	3	29	28	1	12
3	West London Penguin Ladies 4s	6	3	0	3	20	24	-4	12
4	West London Penguin Ladies 3s	6	0	0	6	7	49	-42	6

 

Beckenham Ladies Water Polo Team - London League Winter Tournaments 2009/10

 

Ladies Junior Results (born 92 and younger)

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Sutton & Cheam Ladies Juniors	9	8	0	1	34	7	27	25
2	Beckenham Ladies Juniors	9	4	1	4	13	15	-2	18
3	Croydon Amphibians Ladies Juniors	9	4	0	5	18	20	-2	17
4	Worthing Ladies Juniors	9	1	1	7	10	33	-23	12

 

Beckenham Ladies Junior Water Polo Team - London League Winter Tournaments 2009/10

 

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!

The London League Winter Championships for under 12 - Beckenham.

	Played	Won	Lost	Draw	Void	Points
Beckenham	12	8	2	2		30
Hythe	12	7	4	1		27
Croydon Amphibians	12	5	2	5		27
Sutton & Cheam	12	5	4	3		25
Watford	12	4	5	3		23
West London/Ealing	12	4	7	1		21
Mid Sussex/Crawley	12	1	10	1		15

 

For a full copy of the results click here.

London came 7th in the Youth Girls (born 1993 or later) Inter-Regional Water Polo Championships Division 2 at Walsall on 13th/14th February 2010. The performance and conduct of the members of the team was a credit to themselves, their clubs and Regional Training Centres (RTCs). The team members were:

• Rosie Tayler (Beckenham/Invicta) GK)

• Orla O'Connor Croydon/Beckenham/Invicta) (C)

• Brooke Tafazolli (Sutton & Cheam) VC)

• Sophie Monaghan-Coombes Beckenham/Invicta)

• Nicole Barron (Sutton & Cheam)

• Emily Grant (Beckenham/Invicta)

• Jai-Ping Lee (Beckenham/Invicta)

• Reanna Howells (Sutton & Cheam)

• Lauren Spencer-Boyce (Beckenham/Invicta)

• Eve Tidy (Sutton & Cheam)

• Matilda Williams (Beckenham/Invicta)

• Dora Roughan (Beckenham/Invicta)

 

To read the full report click here

 

Emily Grant Beginners’ squad player of the year 2009 and Coach Simon Woolley

There is a trophy which is awarded each year to the coach’s Beginners’ squad player of the year. The award is based on achievement, attendance and contribution to the squad. The trophy is engraved and is retained by the winner for the following year.

 

INVICTA WATER POLO CLUB

LADIES SQUAD NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 3

WEEKEND 5, MANCHESTER 30-31 JANUARY 2010

 

The final weekend of the 2009-2010 national league season again followed the format of previous years with all the four divisions playing together in a showpiece event at the Manchester Aquatic Centre.

The journey north is the longest trip that the squad faces each year but it is always a highlight to have the opportunity to play at such an outstanding venue.

The weekend format results in each team playing two matches and our fixtures would see us play on Saturday against Bristol, who had already won the divisional title, and on Sunday against mid table Cardiff

After the encouraging performances at Barnet in the previous round of matches when we played without a number of our squad who were unable to travel because of the poor weather, we were pleased to be able to take full team to Manchester.

Unfortunately Daisy was struggling to play having been diagnosed with glandular fever but she travelled hoping to play some part in the two matches.

The full squad was as follows:

1. Rosy Tayler (G/K)
2. Daisy Weir-Somerville
3. Aimee Dannan
4. Jenny Willett
5. Anna Newell (Captain)
6. Kelli Bird
7. Hannah Chilton
8. Lily McLaughlin
9. Sarah Hickey
10. Mia Neve
11. Holly Campbell
12. Emma Jenkins
13. Eimear O’Connor

Bold is a Beckenham player

The individual match reports are as follows:

Saturday 30th January, 16.00

Invicta 5, Bristol 12.

Quarter Scores: 2-3, 1-2, 0-4, 2-3.

This was a really encouraging performance from the squad who for long periods, and particularly in the first half of the match, caused the Bristol team a number of problems.

At the pre-match meeting we discussed at length the way that the team had tactically played so well at Barnet and how we would could use the same game plan against Bristol. Mia again worked really hard at centre forward but with the size and strength of the opposition defenders it was always going to be difficult to score from this position. As a result of this we wanted the players on the arc to keep driving into goal-scoring positions and this worked really well in the first half with Bristol conceding 7 exclusions as we kept putting them under pressure.

The score at half-time indicated how well we had played and we were probably slightly unfortunate to be 3-5 behind at this point in the match.

The third quarter saw Bristol take more control and we were beginning to find it hard to make the drives that had proved so successful in the first half. As a result the opposition were not giving away exclusions and we were struggling to create many chances from “open play.”

In the final quarter we again started to take the game to Bristol and we were rewarded with two excellent goals from Jenny. Without some wayward finishing we would have scored on a number of other occasions but overall we were pleased with the manner of the performance against a well organised and talented opposition.

Overall this was an encouraging performance but it again highlighted the areas that we need to improve to take the team forward. We struggle to score regularly in normal game situations and although we are now regularly creating the opportunities from “man-up” our conversion rate is still too low.

Scorers: Jenny Willett 2, Aimee Dannan 1, Anna Newell 1, Sarah Hickey 1.

Exclusions: Holly Campbell 3, Anna Newell 2, Hannah Chilton, Sarah Hickey 1, Emma Jenkins 1.

 

Sunday 31st January, 13.30

Invicta 4, Cardiff 9.

Quarter Scores: 3-1, 1-2, 0-3, 0-3.

In football reports you will often hear the expression “a game of two halves” but this match against Cardiff was a tale of one quarter and three quarters.

We totally dominated the first period of the game with the opposition unable to create virtually any scoring opportunities and our girls looking dangerous on every attack.

As in the previous match we encouraged the team to keep making drives from the arc and this tactic produced all of the three goals that we scored.

Suddenly we looked a threat from man-up and scored on the first two occasions that saw Cardiff players excluded. Kelli also scored as a result of a quick break but we always looked likely to score and 3-1 at the end of the period didn’t really indicate the true level of our dominance.

I’m not sure anyone knows quite where things went wrong as the game progressed. Credit must be given to Cardiff but we unfortunately were guilty of making things far too easy for the opposition with our inability to maintain possession a key problem.

We started to make a number of simple mistakes and the team became increasingly frustrated that we couldn’t find the form that we had shown in the first period.

Not scoring for over half the match was particularly disappointing but the squad kept trying to make things happen right up to the end of the game.

This was a really frustrating result because all the squad and the coaching team knew that we could have won this match. I think that it is a lack of experience that in tight matches such as this is fundamentally what the squad lacks. We can only put that right by playing more matches because I am sure that this squad will improve over the course of time.

Scorers: Jenny Willett 1, Kelli Bird 1, Mia Neve 1, Emma Jenkins 1.

Exclusions: Anna Newell 2, Jenny Willett 1, Kelli Bird 1, Lily McLaughlin 1, Mia Neve 1.

 

Overall, this was a slightly disappointing weekend because we really felt that we would be in with a good chance of winning the Cardiff match particularly after the encouraging performance against Bristol.

Throughout the season we have performed well at times and we should take a number of positives form many aspects of our play. The team is now much stronger and better organised defensively and we no longer look as vulnerable to quick counter-attacks.

We have found an excellent young goal-keeper in Rosy who produced a number of outstanding displays and she will undoubtedly continue to improve. We have also been able to play a number of junior players in the team throughout the year and all of them will benefit from the experience.

Finally, the squad has been led outstandingly by Anna assisted by Jenny and the attitude and camaraderie of all of the members has been absolutely exemplary.

If all of them continue to show the enthusiasm and willingness to work hard then I am sure that results will begin to improve over the course of time.

 

Alastair Roberts (Coach)

Richard Collins (Assistant Coach)

Gregg Candy-Wallace (Team Manager)

 

On Sunday 24th of January Beckenham U12 Water Polo Team went to Watford to play. This team included Lucy, Cameron, Julius, Henry, Robert, Isaac, Ben, Jamie S-B, Laurie, Joshua and Freddie.

Our first match was against Mid-Sussex. This match was a 6-1 victory. I got three, Robert got two and Jamie got one.

The second match was against Sutton and Cheam and we also managed to win this 5-2. I got two, Henry got one, Robert got one and Ben got two.

Our finale match was against Watford, the hosts. David, our manager, had said to us this was going to be a hard match, so go out and give it your all. That’s what we did. We successfully beat Watford 7-0. I got three, Cameron got two, Robert got two and Ben got one.

We are officially top of the league and we should be very proud of ourselves for trying so hard. I would like to thank Ben and Robert for offering to go in goal, Jackie and Susie for helping on poolside and last, but not least, David our coach for entering Beckenham for the tournament and helping us to be so successful. Once again well done and good luck for the final round of the tournament in Ealing, which will be coming up in the next couple of weeks and after which we hope to be crowned Champions.

By Freddie Pearson

INVICTA WATER POLO CLUB

LADIES NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 3

WEEKEND 4, BARNET 9-10 JANUARY 2010

 

After the slightly disappointing results at the previous national league weekend played at Walsall at the end of November, the Invicta Ladies squad were looking forward to the “local” tournament at Barnet.

The weekend was scheduled for the Queen Elizabeth School pool but the plans were thrown into disarray because of the freezing weather conditions and heavy snow in the south-east in the days prior to the event.

With teams travelling from all over the UK the tournament had to be in doubt and eventually it went ahead but without Cardiff and Walsall who decided that road conditions were too dangerous to risk.

Invicta also faced significant travel problems, particularly for the squad members from outside the London region. After more snow on Saturday morning it was impossible for the three girls (Lily, Daisy and Emma) to travel from Hythe. We also faced having to play without Anna who was stuck on the wrong side of the channel having spent 60 hours trying to get home from a skiing holiday.

As a result of all of this disruption we finally played with the following squad:

1. Rosy Tayler (G/K)
2. Aimee Dannan
3. Jenny Willett (Captain)
4. Kelli Bird
5. Hannah Chilton
6. Jo Davies
7. Sarah Hickey
8. Mia Neve
9. Claire LeVoir

Bold is a Beckenham player

The individual match reports are as follows:

 

Saturday 9th January, 12.30.

Invicta 3, Sheffield B 7.

Quarter Scores; - 1-1, 0-2, 1-2, 1-2.

Sheffield are one of the strongest teams in the league and are well placed to take the divisional title and we had been well beaten by them at the first weekend at Hucknall. That game finished 0-13 but that score-line was not a fair reflection of the performance that our girls produced and we knew that we could be competitive in the return fixture.

This was exactly how the game turned out and without the Sheffield keeper making a string of fine saves we would have been very close to what some people would have perceived as an upset.

 

Sheffield have a strong centre-forward and we discussed at the team meeting that we would need to play a well organised “drop” to minimise the opportunities for this particular player. The girls worked really hard at this tactic and were very successful and as a result the opposition became increasingly frustrated at their inability to score regularly.

In attack we consistently created chances and Mia had an excellent game at centre forward but we unfortunately couldn’t beat the excellent opposition keeper on more than 3 occasions. Our biggest problem was our inability to score goals from the many man-up situations and we only converted 2 of the 9 opportunities. With a better conversion rate we would have had a real chance of winning this match.

But we should be pleased at how well all the squad played and the opposition knew that we had given them a really tough match.

Rosy had another fine game in goal, as already mentioned Mia worked really hard at centre forward and Sarah was very solid in defence. But all the squad contributed and we knew that we had played well even if the final result was not in our favour.

Scorers; - Jenny Willett 1, Aimee Dannon 1, Mia Neve 1.

Exclusions; - Hannah Chilton 2, Kelli Bird 1, Sarah Hickey 1, Mia Neve 1, Clare LeVoir 1.

 

Saturday 9th January 17.30.

Invicta 6, Liverpool C 3.

Quarter Scores; - 1-0, 2-2, 3-1, 0-0.

This was a richly deserved win against a team who had beaten us in the previous encounter at Walsall. 

Once again we employed the “drop” defence and Sarah had a particularly good game at centre back.

Jo gave us the lead in the first quarter with an excellent shot but we really should have converted more of the many chances that we were creating. In the second period we finally managed to convert 2 man-up opportunities with Jenny scoring on both occasions.

The key period of the game was the third quarter and goals from Jo, Mia and Kelli gave us a 6-3 lead which ultimately proved enough to give us the victory that the performance deserved. During the third period Jo was harshly judged to have committed her third exclusion and this left us with 8 players. Aimee also suffered the same fate with nearly 4 minutes of the match to go but the remaining 7 players worked exceptionally hard to protect our lead.

Having worked so hard to get into a winning position it was particularly pleasing to produce a clean sheet in the final quarter. All the squad defended strongly but Rosy once again produced a number of fine saves to preserve our lead and give us a victory that the manner of the performance richly deserved.

This was a really encouraging win against a well organised and talented opposition and all of the squad worked really hard to produce a fine team performance.

Scorers; - Jenny Willett 2, Jo Davies 2, Kelli Bird 1, Mia Neve 1.

Exclusions;- Jo Davies 3, Aimee Dannan 3, Mia Neve 2, Kelli Bird 1, Hannah Chilton 1, Sarah Hickey 1.

 

After the Liverpool match we took decision to travel home as the weather conditions were deteriorating and the forecast was for further snow falls on Saturday night and Sunday morning. We took this decision in consultation with Caledonia who we were due to play on Sunday morning and they were keen to try and return to Scotland on an earlier flight.

It is my personal opinion that the weekend should have been cancelled when the weather conditions and particularly the forecast for the weekend were so poor. With two teams deciding not to travel the program became totally disrupted and we were without players who were unable to travel from Kent.

Overall these two matches indicated that the Invicta ladies are making progress and we produced two good performances. We richly deserved the win against Liverpool and we are looking forward to the final weekend at the Manchester Aquatic centre at the end of January.

 

Alastair Roberts. (Coach)

Gregg Candy-Wallace. (Team Manager)

 

 

Well done everyone for the week before last's efforts at Whitgift.  The Kent team were very competitive for such a young team!  Its players undoubtedly will go on to better things I'm sure over the comming years.... 

Played four, won one, lost three.  Unfortunately, I believe (but could well be corrected!) in narrowly losing the last deciding match against Sussex, Kent were pipped to second place by a goal!

However, the combined effort put in was great - so a big well done ......

Beckenham players Emily Grant, Matilda Williams, Jia Mai Lee, Juliet Edey, Ajay Kapur and Ben Tinkler Davis all played for the Kent team in the u/14 team against Surrey and Sussex.

 

Kent Under 14’s

Coach: Richard Collins

 

Players
Hamish Wyatt	Sevenoaks
James Bray	Hythe
Ben Tinkler Davies	Beckenham
Alex Farrow	Hythe
Emily Grant	Beckenham
Ajay Kapur	Beckenham
Luke Riley	Hythe
Matilda Williams	Beckenham
Jai Mai Lee	Beckenham
Guy Dexter	Tunbridge Wells
Harry Butcher	Tunbridge Wells
Juliet Edey	Beckenham

 

 

INVICTA WATER POLO CLUB

LADIES NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 3

WEEKEND 3, WALSALL, 28-29 NOVEMBER 2009

 

The third weekend of this season’s national league program took the ladies squad back to the Walsall Gala Baths which had also been the venue of the previous tournament 4 weeks previously.

Once again we were able to travel with a full squad of 13 players and it is very encouraging that the selection committee are able to choose from a number of players who are working hard to be part of the national league team.

At this weekend we faced three matches against Cardiff, Otter B and Walsall and the players and coaching team knew that we should be capable of getting positive results against all three.

Squad:

1. Rosie Tayler (G/K)
2. Daisy Weir-Somerville
3. Anna Newell (Capt)
4. Lily McLaughlin
5. Kelli Bird
6. Hannah Chilton
7. Jo Davies
8. Sarah Hickey
9. Jenny Willett
10. Holly Campbell
11. Jacqui Walker
12. Mia Neve
13. Emma Jenkins

In bold are Beckenham players

 

These are the individual match reports:

Saturday 28th November, 13.30.

Invicta 1, Cardiff 3

Quarter Scores: 0-0, 1-0, 0-0, 0-3.

As the score indicates, this was a close match throughout with both teams employing a press defence resulting in a small number of goal scoring opportunities.

For the first three quarters of the match we kept a clean sheet and although chances were limited, Rosie did make a number of fine saves. This included an excellent penalty save during the third quarter by which time we were beginning to think that we might not concede at any stage.

Our problem was our inability to create, and then take enough chances to put further pressure on the opposition and in the end this proved to be our undoing.

Chances were at a premium but we did have a number of opportunities to score goals but we couldn’t capitalise on some good situations. Our man-up was particularly disappointing and even though Anna scored from one of the plays, we couldn’t convert any of the other 5 and we need to improve this aspect of our play if we are to secure wins in tight games.

The final period saw a couple of defensive errors punished by Cardiff and we were unable to fashion enough chances to give us a possibility of taking something from this match.

Ultimately, it was disappointing to play as well, especially defensively, and then lose out in the final period. But we need to create, and take, more chances if we are to capitalise on our defensive strength. On a positive note, this was the type of match that last season we would have lost by a far greater margin and indicates our improvement, but we still felt that we deserved to take at least a point from such a tight game.

Scorer: Anna Newell

Exclusions: Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Anna Newell 1, Kelli Bird 1, Hannah Chilton 1, Jenny Willett 1.

 

Saturday 28th November, 16.30

Invicta 3, Otter B 4.

Quarter Scores: 0-0, 0-3, 2-0, 1-1.

 

After a very short break between games, we faced another highly competitive match against Otter B which we again thought would offer us an opportunity of a win.

Once again, both teams employed a full press defence and as a result the match was very similar to the Cardiff game with chances at a premium.

The match was ultimately decided in the second period when Otter scored three times including one goal from a very dubious penalty decision. Our girls deserve great credit for the way that they battled back from this and in the third period we scored good goals form Kelli and Jo which put us back in the game.

We were unlucky to concede at the start of the final quarter but we soon got a goal back and we pressed hard for an equaliser but without any luck.

Once again our defending was of a high standard but we are struggling to create enough chances to score more goals. But no one could fault the effort and the commitment of the squad who gave 100% and were pressing hard to try and equalise right up to the final whistle.

This was the second very similar match that indicates that we are making progress which is highlighted by the strong defending, but we now need to develop an attacking game that will cause our opponents more problems and as result give us the chance of more victories.

Scorers: Jo Davies 2, Kelli Bird 1.

Exclusions: Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Anna Newell 1, Jo Davies 1.

 

Sunday 29th November, 13.30

Invicta 7, Walsall 13.

Quarter Scores: 3-3, 1-5, 1-2, 2-3.

A disappointing end to the weekend when the team again struggled seemingly to put together a decent performance on a Sunday. This may of course be a coincidence, but this fixture followed an all too familiar pattern with a below par performance that was nowhere near the standard of the two Saturday games.

Walsall are an awkward team to play against and possess a very strong centre forward who consistently scores goals against all the teams in the division. Because of this we decided to make a change from our generally successful press defence to playing a zonal drop that would stop the service into the centre forward. This change was fairly successful even though a number of the girls were relatively unfamiliar with the tactic. The first quarter was evenly contested and the 3-3 score line at the end of the period was a fair reflection of the play.

Unfortunately, during the remainder of the match we made far too many unforced errors and our passing was particularly poor. We conceded several goals as a result of giving the ball away in dangerous areas and our play was well below the standard that we had set 24 hours earlier. We did manage to create a number of chances but our finishing was also below par and we missed a number of shots on goal that we really should have converted.

We did keep going to the end and in the final period we did score two good goals from Jo and Hannah.

Scorers: Jenny Willett 2, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Kelli Bird 1, Hannah Chilton 1, Jo Davies 1, Mia Neve 1.

Exclusions: Jenny Willett 2, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Kelli Bird 1, Sarah Hickey 1, Mia Neve 1.

 

It was very hard on the squad not to take something from this weekend but we should remember that this is fundamentally a new team that has limited experience of national league competition.

We can look at a number of positives and our defending in the two Saturday matches was of a high standard and we don’t look likely to leak many goals. Last season we were always vulnerable to quick counter-attacking teams but we now look much better organised in all situations. We need to work hard on the attacking phase both from open play and also man-up which we continue to struggle with.

The next tournament takes place in January and we will work hard in the time up to this event to try and improve on all aspects of our play.

Finally, all the squad should be commended for their conduct both in and out of the pool and we should give a special mention to Jacqui Walker who made her final appearances for Invicta before returning to New Zealand later this week.

 

 

Alastair Roberts. (Coach)

Richard Collins. (Assistant Coach)

Gregg Candy-Wallace. (Team Manager)

 

The under 16 team started their winter league season on Sunday 8th November 2009 with a journey to Watford where a new all-deep pool provides an excellent venue for water polo. The team finished second on the night with victories over Enfield and Basildon and defeat at the hands of a really strong Watford team. We’ll be back at Watford for a second round of games on Sunday 13th December 2009.

 

Beckenham under 12 team played in their first London league tournament at Whitgift School on Sunday 1st November 2009. After a long wait until our first game, we played Sutton and Cheam expecting a hard match. It was a great game and even better as we won 2:1. This gave us confidence for the second game against Croydon after just one game rest. Again we played great polo and managed another win with a better goal difference, 3:1.

Our final match of the day was against Hythe who had already won their 3 games of the day. Unfortunately this hadn’t worn them out and they managed their 4th win of the day, beating us 3:1.

This was a huge disappointment but they were a very good team and we still played well. We had a very young team who have had very little experience playing as a team.

There are still 3 more tournaments over the winter months and so we are looking forward to watching the team grow and improve. Bring on the Goals!!!!

David and Jackie

Mini polo Coaches

 

Team were: Ben; Joshua; Freddie; Robert; Henry; James; Harry; Cameron; Lucy; Sasha; Katie; Laurie; and Julius. The results from the 1st Under 12s London League Winter Championship WP tournament are attached:

Under 12s 1st November 2009.

Mid Sussex vs. Sutton & Ch	1 - 8
Ealing vs. Watford	2 - 2
Hythe vs. Sutton & Ch	4 - 2
Ealing vs. Mid Sussex	5 - 0
Hythe vs. Watford	6 - 0
Ealing vs. Croydon	2 - 3
Beckenham vs. Sutton & Ch	2 - 1
Mid Sussex vs. Watford	1 - 4
Beckenham vs. Croydon	3 - 1
Mid Sussex vs. Hythe	0 - 10
Croydon vs. Watford	2 - 2
Beckenham vs. Hythe	1 - 3

 

Hythe had a successful day with 4 wins and lead the league table

The twelve games were enjoyed by a crowd of over 100 spectators.

The next under 12s tournament is on 13th December 2009.

After the promising performances of the first weekend at Hucknall, the ladies squad travelled to the Walsall Gala baths for the next round of fixtures in this year’s national league.

With all the registration issues now sorted, we were able to select from a full squad of players. Jenny would only be available for the later games in the weekend after travelling back from New York and because of this we decided to take a squad of 14 as follows:

1. Rosie Tayler (G/K)

2. Kelli Bird

3. Daisy Weir-Somerville

4. Anna Newell (Captain)

5. Lily McLaughlin

6. Hannah Chilton

7. Jo Davies

8. Sarah Hickey

9. Emma Jenkins

10. Amy Stringer

11. Jenny Willett (Against Liverpool C)

12. Mia Neve

13. Clare Levoir

14. Eimear O’Connor (Against Bristol & Caledonia)

 

In Bold are Beckenham players.

The individual match reports are as follows:

Match 1, Saturday 12.30

Invicta 5, Caledonia 5.

Quarter Scores: 1-1, 1-2, 1-1, 2-1

This was a hugely entertaining and exciting match and we thoroughly deserved to take a hard earned point after such strong performance.

The quarter scores indicate how close the match was with both teams never able to dominate proceedings.

Our defending was of a high standard and Caledonia were also unable to take advantage of all the limited number of chances that they created with Rosie making a number of good saves.

The match featured a final minute that was full of drama. We led 5-4 with exactly 60 seconds remaining when Caledonia called a time-out. With 40 seconds left Daisy was very unlucky to be excluded and the opposition immediately called their second time out. When the game re-commenced Caledonia scored from a well worked man-up with 25 seconds remaining. With the game tied at 5-5 we took our first time-out at the re-start and incredibly a Caledonia player was excluded for impeding Anna before she was able to make the pass at the re-start. As a result we called our final time-out with 23 seconds remaining but unfortunately we were unable to take the opportunity when we shot over the bar with 3 seconds on the clock.

Overall this was a valuable point gained against a team that hade beaten us comfortably on both occasions last season and this is a good indication that we are making good progress.

Scorers: Jo Davies 2, Anna Newell 1, Kelli Bird 1, Clare Levoir 1.

Exclusions: Daisy Weir-Somerville 2, Jo Davies 2, Anna Newell 1, Sarah Hickey 1.

 

Match 2, Saturday 15.30

Invicta 4, Bristol 10.

Quarter Scores: 2-2, 0-4, 1-3, 1-1.

Bristol is a much improved team and features a number of new talented players this season and as a result are one of the favourites for the divisional title.

We knew that this would be a tough game against a team that features a number of highly experienced and physically bigger and stronger girls.

We actually made an excellent start and Kelli opened the scoring with a well taken goal. The 2-2 score line at the end of the period did not flatter us and we had played some excellent water polo looking dangerous in attack and defending strongly.

During the 2nd and 3rd quarters we struggled to deal with the Bristol attacking play and we had particular problems with both of the centre forwards who alternated in the role.

The girls kept going right to the end and we played well in the final period scoring an excellent goal from Jo.

Overall, another encouraging performance against a team who will undoubtedly be in with a chance of promotion at the end of the season.

Scorers: Kelli Bird 2, Anna Newell 1, Jo Davis 1.

Exclusions: Rosie Tayler 2, Daisy Weir-Somerville 2, Anna Newell 2, Hannah Chilton 2, Sarah Hickey 1, Eimear O’Connor 1, Mia Neve 1.

 

Match 3, Sunday 10.30

Invicta 9, Liverpool C 10.

Quarter Scores: 2-3, 2-3, 3-2, 2-2.

This was a match that was ultimately hugely frustrating because we worked incredibly hard to get to a position where we should have at least have secured a draw.

We made a slow start and at one point during the second quarter we were 6-3 down but the squad showed a great deal of resilience and eventually we levelled at 6-6 during the 3rd period. Unfortunately we were unable to capitalise on this but we still fought back to only a one goal deficit when Mia scored an excellent goal with just under 3 minutes remaining. We had opportunities to equalise late on but we didn’t take our chances and we were left to reflect on what might have been.

Although we were disappointed not to take something from the game we should remember that we lost both fixtures to the same opposition last season by margins in excess of 10 goals.

Once again all the squad worked really hard and their attitude and effort could not be faulted.

Scorers: Jo Davies 3, Mia Neve 2, Hannah Chilton 2, Anna Newell 1, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1.

Exclusions: Anna Newell 2, Sarah Hickey 2, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Kelli Bird 1, Emma Jenkins 1, Mia Neve 1.

 

This was another encouraging weekend for the girl’s squad who are now beginning to show significant improvement as a result of the new training program at Crystal Palace. The third division of the women’s national league is much more competitive affair this year and we feel that we should be able to compete well against all the teams that we play.

We may well have taken something from the Liverpool match if we had more experience but this will develop as the squad plays more matches of this type. What we don’t lack is commitment and a positive attitude and all the squad are keen to learn and become better players and part of a team that will continue to improve.

We return to Walsall at the end of November for the next national league weekend when we hope to continue making progress.

 

Alastair Roberts (Coach)

Gregg Candy-Wallace (Team Manager)

 

Download or view word version of this report here .

 

From the Daily telegraph

By James Cracknell

Rowing gold medallist James Cracknell continues his quest to try other Olympic sports – but fails to make a splash with water polo.

It was an assault on my senses so strong that I suffered a childhood regression. The brightly lit leisure centre at a ridiculously early hour; the smell of chlorine and the sensation of diving into cold water. I almost turned around.

Admittedly, the Manchester Aquatic Centre is more welcoming than Woking Leisure Centre in 1981, but the urge to wet my trunks in the shower, hide in the changing room and trick my mother into believing I had gone training, was there. I never had a problem ploughing up and down a rowing course in the cold and dark, but I’ve always struggled in a pool.

But what greater incentive than to take part in our most successful Olympic sport of all time – water polo. Britain is second in the sport’s medal table with four golds although, admittedly, we cleaned up between 1900-1920 and haven’t sent a team since the 1956 Games. As host nation, Team GB automatically qualifies for 2012, but the men’s and women’s teams have to meet the standard set by the British Olympic Association – a place in Europe’s top 12.

GB water polo first received centralised funding in 2006, but a 75 per cent cut in its budget has meant the loss of the performance director, head and part-time coaches and support staff. With enough money to support only one team, British water polo had to prioritise one squad. They chose the one with the best chance – the women. Our women have no real history to lean on, but they’re impressive. The cut in funds has meant that the hopefuls had to work, and squad members often missed training as a consequence. Some are luckier than others: students and those who work for British swimming or the Aquatics centre have more flexibility. But Josie Morris, the goalie, is a teacher and was to miss the next session for a class outing.

‘‘We understand the shortfall,’’ she said, ‘‘we just wanted a full Olympic cycle to show what we can do.’’

I believed my chances of controlling a ball while swimming were surely higher than while running. I’d tried the latter and a rare disease stops my nerve endings at the ankles, impeding signals from the brain, rendering close control impossible. It appears the disease has spread to my wrists. Water polo requires you to swim front crawl, flat out, with your head up, to have some idea of where everyone else is, while controlling and protecting the ball with shorter more powerful strokes. Unfortunately, while the girls looked like seals at Sea World, I resembled a Labrador who’s swum out too far to fetch a stick.

At least I had an ace up my sleeve. I can throw and girls… well, we all know… But it seems being able to throw while sinking is more difficult. Players aren’t allowed to touch the bottom during the game, made slightly easier by the minimum pool depth of two metres. When not swimming, you tread water using a technique called egg-beating. Unlike the treading water that comes naturally (both legs kicking simultaneously like a vertical breaststroke) egg-beating involves kicking one at a time; when throwing the ball you kick your legs faster and faster, propelling the top half of your body out of the water, allowing free movement of the arm. I was soon convinced I had negative buoyancy.

There are six outfield, or ‘outpool’, players and a goalie on each team, but thankfully we used just half the pool. I could see the appeal. Water polo is to swimming what football is to running. And this would get people fit quickly. Halfway through my debut that appeal was dwindling. I’d been impressed with my catching and throwing, but the recipients of my passes didn’t seem quite as pleased. I’d managed to perfect the plop pass, where I got the ball to drop about a foot in front of my team-mate’s face, splashing water and losing the momentum needed.

To start with, I didn’t encounter much brutality, but, halfway through, the coach must have given my opposite the green light to get physical. Suddenly I was being climbed on, dunked and kicked, none of which seemed to bring a foul. Still, it was the most fun I’d had in a swimming pool since I managed to break the ‘No Petting’ rule as a teenager.

It would be brilliant if the women could secure their place for London, but they have no nutritionist, physiologist or full-time conditioning coach. What they have developed is a siege mentality. They’ll need it in a few weeks when they play Russia. One of their opponents is 119kg. Imagine Martin Johnson or Matthew Pinsent in a swimming costume.

Danny Casey has been nominated as the Kent County ASA Water Polo Player of the Year in recognition of his excellent performances throughout the year. Congratulations and well done to Danny.

INVICTA WATER POLO CLUB

LADIES NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 3

WEEKEND 1, HUCKNALL, 3-4 OCTOBER 2009

 

After winning the play-off match at the end of last season to preserve our place in Division 3, the club has seen a significant change in personnel as well as the restructuring of the club with the move to Crystal Palace.

With several of last seasons senior players leaving it has given us an opportunity to introduce a number of new girls to the squad and we travelled to Hucknall with 6 national league debutantes in a squad of 12. We were unable to play Sarah Hickey at this weekend because of the unnecessarily bureaucratic and archaic registration process required by the NWWPL, but she travelled with the squad and she will be available for the remaining weekends.

Squad in full:

• Rosie Tayler (g/k)
• Kelli Bird
• Hannah Chilton
• Jacqui Walker
• Daisy Weir-Somerville
• Emma Jenkins
• Lily McLaughlin
• Mia Neve
• Amy Stringer
• Eimear O’Connor
• Orla O’Connor
• Anna Newell (captain)

N.B. Bold is a Beckenham player

 

Match 1 (Saturday). Invicta 8, Walsall 5

Quarter Scores; - 1-1, 2-1, 4-2, 1-1

This was an exciting match that we thoroughly deserved to win.

With Anna marshalling the defence at centre-back we alternated Hannah and Jacqui in the centre-forward role. Both girls worked extremely hard to occupy this pivotal position and although they didn’t carry a huge amount of goal threat, they were rewarded with several opposition exclusions.

Defensively the team worked hard to maintain a full press that for long periods limited the opposition to a small number of chances. As a result we gained possession on several occasions because of the opposition being unable to create any scoring opportunities before the shot clocks ran down.

Overall, this was an excellent win against a team that was relegated from Division 2 at the end of last season and indicates that the Invicta squad now has the potential to progress quickly in this division.

Scorers; - Kelli Bird 2, Hannah Chilton 1, Jacqui Walker 1, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Mia Neve 1, Amy Stringer 1, Anna Newell 1.

Exclusions; - Kelli Bird 2, Mia Neve 2, Hannah Chilton 1, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1

 

Match 2 (Saturday). Invicta 4, Otter B 6

Quarter Scores; - 1-1, 1-2, 0-2, 2-1

Another exciting match where the girls gave 100% and were a little unlucky not to at least be rewarded with a draw.

We used basically the same tactics that had worked so well in the match against Walsall and the full press was again particularly effective in limiting the opposition to a small number of chances.

Otter were also well drilled in defence and we struggled to create a huge number of chances from open play. We did work hard and as a result the opposition conceded a number of exclusions but we were unable to convert these opportunities.

The match was probably decided by the “set plays” with our poor conversion on man up being matched by a number of “soft” goals being conceded on man down. These problems will be easily rectified as the squad trains and develops over the coming weeks.

Overall a highly competitive display that indicates that the team will develop quickly as the season continues.

Scorers; - Kelli Bird 1, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Mia Neve 1, Anna Newell 1.

Exclusions; - Hannah Chilton 2, Kelli Bird 1, Daisy Weir-Somerville 1, Emma Jenkins 1, Mia Neve 1, Amy Stringer 1, Anna Newell 1.

 

Match 3 (Sunday). Invicta 0, Sheffield B 12

Quarter Scores; - 0-5, 0-3, 0-2, 0-3

Having played so well in the two matches on the previous day we knew that we would have to produce another good performance against a physical, experienced and well-drilled opposition.

We spoke at length at the pre-match meet about the need to continue the progress we had made in the two matches the previous day but we knew that the Sheffield team would be of a higher standard.

Although the final score was disappointing it really does not reflect the effort that the girls put in and it was particularly cruel that we did not manage to convert any of the many chances that we created.

What was impressive was the attitude that kept the team going to the end and this forced Sheffield to commit 9 exclusion fouls. We failed to take advantage and even missed a penalty but we can still take a number of positives from this defeat.

Once again, all the squad gave 100% and the youngsters were never fazed by the physicality of the match.

Scorers: - None

Exclusions: - Emma Jenkins 2, Hannah Chilton 1, Mia Neve 1, Amy Stringer 1, Anna Newell 1.

 

In conclusion, this was an encouraging weekend and the win against Walsall was well deserved and we showed enough in the other two matches to indicate that we are moving in the right direction.

We have a number of players who did not play at Hucknall who will be available for the remaining weekends and they will undoubtedly strengthen the squad.

Finally, I am always reticent to praise any individual player because this is very much a team sport where every squad member will contribute. In this instance though, mention should be made of Rosie Tayler who made an outstanding debut in national league water polo in goal. In all of the three matches she produced a string of fine saves which were matched by the quality of her game awareness and she should be congratulated for the remarkable high standard and consistency of her play.

 

Alastair Roberts (Coach)

Richard Collins (Assistant coach)

Gregg Candy-Wallace (Team manager)

Jenny Willett (Chaperone)

 

At the recent AGM, Sean King was made a Beckenham Swimming Club Honorary Life Member in recognition of his achievements with Great Britain water polo.

The London League campaign got underway slowly at Whitgift School on 19 April. Beckenham, with pretty much their full strength team with university attendees back for Easter holidays struggled against Croydon with a 10-10 draw. Rob Spurr scoring the vital equalising man-up with 15 seconds remaining (Scorers: Mark Cheetham 2, Paul Cheetham 2, Greg Jackson 2, Rob Spurr 2, Will Liddie 1, Sean King 1). Sloppy decisions in the 2nd game against Penguin contributed to a 13-10 loss (Scorers: Mark Cheetham 2, Nick Jackson 2, Greg Jackson 2, Will Liddie 1, Paul Cheeetham 1,Pat Baker 1, Rob Spurr 1). Two weeks later on a Monday at Avondale, Beckenham lost 15-8 (Scorers: Matt Spurr 4, Nick Jackson 1, Ben Carter 1, Pat Baker 1, Chris Wright 1).