TALENT IDENTIFICATION FOR FEMALE WATER POLO PLAYERS
A British Water Polo initiative is set to give Britain a
boost as it prepares for the London 2012 Olympics.
Young women aged 16-22 who have closed the door on competitive
swimming are being encouraged to take up the opportunity to
transfer their skills into a different aquatic sport.
British Water Polo will host a 'profile day' on 21st July
in Walsall to identify potential future Olympians. Experience
playing water polo is not necessary, but good co-ordination
is vital for the team sport.
National Performance Director Nick Hume is keen to attract
more women into the pool.
"We want to cast the net wider and see how many people
we can attract," he said. "On 21st July, we will
profile the athletes and see how their swimming is, run through
a number of basic water polo drills and rate them."
"If we think they have some talent, we will invite them
back. We are quite good at profiling players and identifying
who has some potential."
The sport has already shown signs of improvement with the
women's silver medal winning performance in the LEN European
B Water Polo Championships in June. With the introduction
of more players they will be looking to further develop their
competitive team.
The British team has been working under a new training regime
with Hungarian Szilveszter Fekete. The new women's Head Coach
has been working with the squad to help the sport move forward
ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, and a steady flow of female
players into the sport will provide healthy competition throughout
all levels of performance.
Manchester Aquatic Centre will play host to the LEN Men's
European Nations Trophy next month when 12 squads from across
the continent battle it out for prestigious silverware as
well as a chance to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
The eight-day event, featuring Britain's men, gets underway
on 8th July and is the latest major aquatic event to be staged
at the Oxford Road aquatics centre
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