BHP Aquatic Super Series

Second week of training done, and what a week it has been. Attending a senior training camp with China was not really what I had in mind when I thought about heading back to training after a long break. The grueling sessions and training games left us feeling a little battered at the end of the week as we headed into the final showdown. The official game as a part of the BHP Aquatic Super Series (BASS).

The training week consisted of spending around 4 hours in the pool a day plus an hour in the gym every second day. As well as a mixture of video reviews, ice baths, recovery and physio. It can be very limiting on the amount of down time you can scrape together. How I have missed this!  

 Video: Behind the scenes of the Australia Water Polo teams at the BHP Billiton Aquatic Super Series

With a fairly new squad put together it was fantastic to see some great individual and team play over the week. I was a little nervous to say the least at heading into international competition after only 2 weeks of training. I was unsure if my brain would still work under the pressure, not to mention how my body would hold up. Five months is a long time to be out of the water and out of competition.

The girls really showed their character in coming out strong at the start of the game. With most of the first quarter turning into a swimming match. We soldiered on and kept battering away at the Chinese defense to be rewarded with some goals. Although the margin was always close, we netted a couple of goals in a row in the final quarter, giving us some breathing room. In the end we won 7-6, a fantastic effort from everyone. Click Here for Match Report

The BASS event was fantastic! It was great to be involved in an event that wasn't solely based around water polo. Getting to know more of the Australian Sporting Community and seeing how other sports prepare and compete. Hopefully for those swimming fans who don't know that much about polo or who haven't seen a live world class international game were able to enjoy either the men's or women's game. Now it's back to QAS (Queensland Academy of Sport) and National League training, with our first National League game not too far away.

New Year, New Squad

With the beginning of a New Year, so sees a new Stingers squad emerging. With some of our London Olympic team retiring, others taking a break or returning to various work or study commitments,  making way for the next generation of players to make their mark on the international stage. To start the New Year off the squad heads to Perth to train and play against the Chinese in the BHP Aquatic Super Series (BASS). With our Olympians returning to training on the 7^th of January it’s going to be a tough week of training and playing. The week caps off with an Official Game on Friday 18^th at Challenge Stadium.

So after a fantastic 5-month break it’s great to head straight back into the swing of things. Although the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) is a killer, it seems to be easing off as the week’s progress. It's be great training with Glencora, Ziggy and Victoria during this week, with Holly to arrive tonight.

With the BHP Aquatic Super Series starting 18th and continuing to the 20th, with a number of swimming events, the Aussies Sharks playing Croatia and our game vs China. Should be a good game against our Olympic quarter final opponents, where our game went into extra time and penalty shootout.  

 

Tickets Available Here