BRITISH WOMEN TO FACE FIRST EUROPEAN TEST
Britain's Water Polo women aim to put themselves into contention
for next year's European Championships when they play in a
qualification event that will also showcase the progress made
under a new coaching regime.
The LEN Women's European B Water Polo Championships in the
Czech Republic will provide Britain with their first tournament
test since Hungarian-born coach Szilveszter Fekete began working
with the British squad in February this year.
Under Fekete, the squad has been working hard preparing for
the Prague event next week which features nine nations split
into groups of five and four.
Britain have the difficult task of taking on France, the
pre-tournament favourites, in their group as well as Slovakia
and Turkey. The first group features hosts the Czech Republic,
Bulgaria, Ukraine, Portugal and Switzerland.
The British team, however, is quietly confident the work
undertaken over recent months will serve them well as they
look to secure a top two finish in the group before progressing
to the play-off stages.
For National Performance Director Nick Hume the event will
provide a valuable opportunity to chart the squad's improvement
while enabling enhancements to be made to a programme aimed
at putting Britain in the higher echelons of the sport in
time for the London 2012 Olympics.
"This international event sees the squad progress to
the next level and it will be interesting to see just how
far they've moved on," explained Hume. "Our ultimate
aim is to finish in the top four and this will give us a place
at the next qualification tournament for the 2008 European
Championships.
"The top four nations from the European B Championships
will play off against the bottom four teams from the A Championships
as they look to qualify for the main event next year. That's
where we need to be aiming for as we prepare for the London
Olympics.
"We've got a mixed team which includes a number of juniors
forcing their way into the senior fold. We've lost our influential
captain and most experienced player in Fran Leighton due to
a knee injury but this gives others the opportunity to move
into the senior team."
Hume is confident the women's team will put their fresh approach,
introduced by Fekete, into action this week although he's
aware of the steps that need to be taken to produce a competitive
Olympic squad.
"The girl's have been working very hard and it's the
first time Fekete has had the team for a proper tournament.
They're untried and untested as a unit so we'll be looking
to see how this goes, note what works and what doesn't and
adjust our programme accordingly.
"We've done well against a number of the teams that
will compete in Prague. We've had wins against Portugal and
Switzerland but these games will be different as the stakes
are higher.
"We're quite confident of coming through the tournament
in the top four and this will signal the improvements made
against some far more experienced teams. We're moving it on
all of the time and it would be good for a result to signify
that."
The team sees a number of new additions but Hume wants more
athletes coming into the sport, coming through the ranks and
pressing for places within the national set up.
"We've got a couple of girls in the team that have been
based in America and it will be good to see how they've progressed.
Lisa Gibson has been with our junior set up for the past two
years and Daisy Fish lives in the U.S.
"But the sport in this country needs more players working
their way into the system and that is one of the things we're
desperately trying to alter.
"We need competition for places to push the athletes
on and later this summer we'll be holding open days where
swimmers, athletes, the public can attend to see what the
sport has to offer and to see where they can fit into it."
Britain kick-start their European campaign on Tuesday 19th
June against Turkey.
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.
The LEN Women's European B Water Polo Championships take
place in Prague, Czech Republic from 17 to 24 June. The
British squad comprises:
Tara Smith - City of Sheffield
Chloe Wilcox - City of Sheffield
Bernice Cowton - City of Sheffield
Fiona McCann - City of Liverpool
Daisy Fish - City of Manchester
Victoria Bowen - City of Sheffield
Lisa Gibson - City of Manchester
Rosalind Griffiths - City of Manchester
Hannah Wild - City of Liverpool
Angela Winstanley Smith - Sedgefield and Dist 75
Victoria Hawkins - City of Manchester
Larissa Davies - City of Sheffield
Rosemary Morris - City of Liverpool
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