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The overall performance of the NSWIS squad over the 3 weekends was excellent. We had a different squad each round which meant we definitely needed to ensure our focus remained on just a few important aspects of the team and then build on them week by week. We were able to trial and review how we went in areas like our warm up, nutrition, recovery, game analysis etc and to see the impact those things could have on individual and team performances.
We had some great performances from all athletes across the 3 weekends. Some of our young senior NSWIS athletes that really stepped up included Olivia Mitchell, Lilli Harris and Alexie Lambert. We also had many of our juniors (U/20) play well whether with NSWIS, AUS jnr or AUS combined teams.
As mentioned above we had some great performances across the board with some of our younger players stepping up each week. Other stand out performers included Gen Longman in goals who was a consistently high performer in the pool and a great leader out of the pool. It was also impressive seeing the return of players like Bronte Halligan and Tilly Kearns for the last weekend of play.
NSWIS squad athletes are about to find out about their selection for SNR and JNR world championships being held in Japan (July) and Portugal (September). We are also looking into sending an NSWIS/combined squad overseas as well as possibly host an international team in Sydney at the end of the year.

The NSW Institute of Sport and Queensland Academy of Sport dominated the recent women’s water polo National Team Challenge that was played over a series of three weekends in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

The purpose of the Challenge was to provides an opportunity for current and future Aussie Stingers to play high quality, competitive water polo.

The competition featured four teams including Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS), Australian 20&U Women, and a combined team consisting of athletes from Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT.

The Bec Rippon-coached NSWIS squad, which includes among its scholarship athletes, Stingers’ skipper Zoe Arancini and six members of the national squad which toured Europe last April: Pascalle Casey, Bronte Halligan, Sienna Hearn, Genevieve Longman, Brooke McClean, and Amy Ridge, performed strongly.

Brisbane hosted the first weekend of competition, with the home state Queensland taking out the top spot with an undefeated streak.

The second weekend of competition headed south to Sydney, with the home state again victorious, NSWIS winning three from three games.

Many players who have spent the season abroad returned for the final weekend of competition at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

A tightly matched game between QAS and NSWIS was used to determine the winner of weekend three. After a 10 minute break due to the pool lights going out, the teams returned to the pool for a penalty shoot out, Tokyo Olympian Abby Andrews scoring the winning goal to seal victory for QAS.

Aussie Stingers Head Coach Paul Oberman said it was great to see so many high quality games with the World Aquatics Championships on the horizon.

“We reintroduced the National Team Challenge to ensure our women’s program had an opportunity to keep playing high quality water polo after the conclusion of the Australian Waterpolo League season,” Oberman said.

“I am extremely happy with the tournament and the outcome, and it was great to welcome back some of our overseas squad members for the final weekend.

“With the World Championships less than six weeks away, it was crucial that the women’s program kept up the intensity, and this competition has done exactly that,” he said.

The Aussie Stingers squad will remain at the Australian Institute of Sport for a short training camp, before selection of the World Championships team in the coming weeks.

WEEKEND 1 (BRISBANE)

Winner: Queensland Academy of Sport

Top goal scorers: