Water Polo News: Brits Set Sights On Rio 2016

by admin on August 25, 2012

After coming in 8th place in the London 2012, Great Britain’s unmistakable spirit in the face of adversity has shown itself again. The GB Water Polo teams hold their heads high, announcing disappointment at the losses, but stating that they are proud of their efforts. And we’re inclined to agree with them.

The Water Polo UK team has faced more hardship than simply losing games. The teams have been underfunded for most of the year, and their performance in the games was remarkable and well played. While no victories were won, the UK water polo league, and fans, agree that it was definitely a moral victory.

Francesca Clayton, the female water polo player who scored two goals in the Olympic game against Italy had a lot to say. ”

I think if I had been asked a year ago, and someone said ‘These will be your scores’, we would have been like, ‘Yeah great, brilliant’.

But we expect so much of ourselves now, especially after coming seventh in the Europeans and beating Germany, we were hoping we could step up to beat Spain, step up to beat Russia and Italy.

We are getting close, and maybe in another year it will be GB in the top four, and that’ll be the way we’re going.”

She believes, as do many of the fans, that with the rate the GB water polo team is improving, they will be more than ready for the Rio 2016.

Women’s team captain Fran Leighton also had her bit to share,

“I’m disappointed because I’m an athlete and a sportswoman who likes to win and hates losing. Also, it feels like if someone asks how you got along and you say eighth, then people may not understand how hard we fought, and how well we actually did in some of the games. So unfortunately, the hard facts are we did lose all of our games here, but I think we’ve put forward a massive case for how far we’ve come, since London won the Olympics, how much we’ve changed. And I think it’s really promising for Rio that after this, this will be a real support for water polo going forward.”

 

With Great Britain winning 65 medals in the London 2012, there’s no doubt that the Rio 2016 holds bright promise for us all. And perhaps, with more funding and time to improve, the British water polo team will share in the winnings!

 

 

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LEN Water Polo European Cup Qualifiers

by admin on August 18, 2012

 

Are you ready for another round of UK water polo? The European LEN Water Polo Cup is about to start in just a few months.

This year’s LEN Euro cup is scheduled to kick off sometime after October 19th 2012. The first round of qualifiers finished with 15 water polo clubs moving on into the games. There are 15 club teams playing in this round of the competition, with two of our very own water polo UK teams.

Because there are currently only 15 entrants, they will remain uncontested until the second Qualification, which will begin on October 19th and officially heading off the LEN men’s Euro Cup 2012-2013.

After the Qualifications round II, four more clubs will be added to the competitors, making for a total of 19 club teams competing for the Euro cup. Currently Italy’s Savona team is heading off the qualifiers; a big red flag for Brit water polo lovers, Savona is the two time reigning champion of the European Cup.

Currently teams are as follows:

RN Savona (ITA)

RN Florentia (ITA)

 

CN Mataro (ESP)

Szolnoki VSE Dozsa Kozgep (HUN)

Dobrecen VSE (HUN)

 

DInamo Moscow (RUS)

Dinamo Spartak Astrakhan (RUS)

 

OSC Postdam (GER)

AZ&PC Amersfort (NED)

FNC Douai (FRA)

Olympic Nice Nation (FRA)

 

Yuzme Instanbul (TUR)
Enke Instanbul (TURK

Cheltenham SWPC (GBR)

Bristol Central (GBR)

 

Competitors will be seeded into four groups, the drawings done on September 19th, one month prior to the start of the second Qualifications. From there, European Championship teams will battle for the cup.

New teams in the European championship include Dinamo Spartak Astrachan from Russia and OSC Potsdam, the first German team from the area to compete in the LEN since 1990, and the only German team in this year’s competition.

Names to look out for include two times reigning world Champs Savona, former world champions Florentia, and former world champions Dinamo Moscow from Russia.

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Water Polo News – Not A Win But A Moral Victory for the British Team

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  The UK water polo team has not yet scored any victories in the London 2012, however; despite that they do have the moral victory of playing well. UK water polo supporters across Great Britain are held together by the unanimous feeling of pride in our national team. Despite not yet scoring victories, the UK [...]

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Water Polo UK

January 4, 2012

Welcome to Water Polo UK – bringing you the latest Water Polo news, and opinion from around Great Britain.

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