British players introduce Worthing girls to water polo

Organised by Worthing-based Drenched Mini Water Polo, the Girls Into Polo event at Windlesham House School was attended by more than 50 young people.

Co-founder Matt White said the event marked a major success as the water polo school continued to bounce back from the pandemic.

He added: "Currently twice as many boys play versus girls and we are committed to making this 50/50. The girls were treated to an introduction to the sport and demonstration from former players, some of whom are now playing for Great Britain and in the British National League.

"It’s actually the first time we’ve been able to run this event since the pandemic and it’s incredibly rewarding that many of the girls that attended in 2020 as participants have now returned the to inspire the next generation of girls as helpers.

"Water polo is an amazing sport, you develop swimming skills, fitness and get all the social benefits from playing a team sport – it’s a great game for both boys and girls to try.”

Drenched is already looking forward to next year’s event and many of the attendees are already showing an interest in joining the weekly sessions at Windlesham House School, near Findon.

Matt has been working with Russell’s Swim School, Worthing’s biggest independent swim school, to raise the profile of swimming and water polo and make them more accessible to all families.

Matt said: "We both feel the pandemic and subsequent financial crisis is a huge threat to swimming and being a seaside town, we are working hard in 2024 to inspire more children to get down the pool. We’ve found in the past eight years that the water polo side is a really engaging way to do this.

"We’ve partnered with Arundel Lido and will be providing free equipment and some paid training to start delivering water polo in their summer season.

"We’re taking a dedicated team of nine to 12 year olds to Budapest this summer for the water polo trip of a lifetime. Hungary is the most successful water polo nation in history, so it will be very inspiring."