Water polo returns to La Vallette
Water polo is returning to La Vallette Bathing Pools.
Four teams will visit on Saturday to play against Guernsey in a venue that used to be a hub of water polo action in the 1950s and 1960s.
Then regular Water Gymkhanas were held featuring polo matches as well as diving displays and fancy floating, which appears to be an early version of artistic swimming.
Crowds in their thousands would be drawn to these floodlit galas.
Guernsey Water Polo LBG is hoping to recreate some of that excitement with their forthcoming tournament.
There will be men’s, women’s and mixed matches featuring teams from Worthing, Basingstoke, Mid Sussex Marlins, Jersey and Guernsey
‘Everyone is welcome to come down and watch,’ said James Cooper, head coach for Guernsey Water Polo.
The local club was re-established in 2015.
‘For such a small club we’re doing really well,’ said James.
‘We’ve got three girls currently in the national squad and in total we’ve had six of our youngsters playing for the South-East regional team in the National Championships.’
James said water polo is a great sport for swimmers looking for a complementary activity or for people who have played other ball sports and are looking for something different to try.
‘Water polo is easy to pick up; you just need to be a strong swimmer and have a general understanding of ball sports.’
The club is hoping that Saturday’s tournament at La Vallette will introduce the sport to a new audience.
‘We just want to raise the profile of the sport.
‘We definitely want to go out and get new members and are planning to host weekly matches down at La Vallette during the whole of August.’
The tournament on Saturday begins at 12 noon and matches will consist of two halves of 10 minutes each.
Visit our What’s On diary to see what other events are happening and remember you can sign up to our weekly newsletter to get a reminder directly to your inbox.
