Emma Winter

This year saw 5 clubs represented from our Region, that is the most we have had in attendance since before covid. That included swimmers from Aqualina, Hatfield, Potters Bar, Chelmsford & Norwich. It was a very well attended event from across the country, with 163 swimmers  competing in the Youth section, with our highest placed swimmer being Dominika Janikova from Aqualina in 26th position. In the 12 and under section there were 114 swimmers and our highest placed swimmers were Elja Babikiene in 5th position and Carmen Harrison in 7th position, both from Aqualina. Several Solo’s, Duets and Teams were also competing from Aqualina and Potters Bar, with the most notable achievement being a Silver medal for the Aqualina 12 and Under free team event, swimmers were Elja Babikiene, Carmen Harrison, Evie Harding & Katie Nemec. It was also great to have the East Region President Ann Byrne there cheering us on. All in all a very respectable performance from the Region.

Congratulations to the East Region U14 Boys Water Polo Team who claimed silver medal at the U14 Inter Regional Championships at Walsall Gala Baths on the 6th – 7th December 2025.

Head Coach Martin Vinter (Colchester Swimming & Water Polo Club) reports on a great weekend.

“The under 14 boys East team embarked on the journey to Walsall last weekend for the Inter Regional championships. Following a successful trip last year where we finished fourth we were hopeful we could go a step further this year. A number of the boys were playing again and we had a good mix of experience and players witnessing tournament play for the first time.

We couldn’t have drawn a tougher groupl and first up on Saturday lunchtime following the long drive up was the North West team, full of 10 Manchester players, who were used to playing together. Our team had only met an hour before the game! However we played really well and took a 6-4 lead, which North West managed to claw back in the final minutes to secure a 6-6 draw. Next up was a tough fixture against a Scotland team, but the boys worked really hard as a team and secured a fine 2-0 victory.

The boys were now beginning to gel as a team and we could see improvement in every game. Next up was our evening fixture against South West, who again put up a strong performance, but we dominated them with an explosive first half display that saw us go 5-0 up in no time. The game finished 5-2 and the boys were able to enjoy their evening meals sitting pretty at the top of the table.

Sunday morning was an early start as we were first game on at 9:10, but again the boys delivered a really strong performance beating the East Midlands 8-0. This meant we finished top of group 1 and would take on the South East in the semi final. Determined to go one better than last year and make the final the boys again prodcued another wonderful display of attacking polo which the South East couldn’t keep up with. The final score was 13-3 and the boys had made the final!

The other semi final saw the North West beat London by a solitary goal in a really tight game, so the boys knew they had already given the North West a shock in the first game of the tournament. The final was a really tight game with both teams really strong in defence. The game ebbed and flowed and the tension could be felt in the stands. The team held themselves together admirably and managed to get into a slender lead twice, but North West managed to grab equalisers. As the clock ran down it became clear there was nothing to seperate between the teams and in would come down to penalties, we had scored one and missed two in the final but this didn’t stop the boys putting their hands up to take another one in the final. The North West goalkeeper has kept for Manchester Hawks in British Water Pool League  divison 3 so has vast experience. He used all of this as he save 3 of our penalties, meaning the boys just lost out, but still secured fantastic silver medals. it has been a long time since an East team has come this far. Special mentions to captain Ronan Rodrigo who was voted East Most Valuable Player for the tournament and to Josh De Almeida who was voted Most Valuable Player for the whole tournament.”

The U15 National Age Group Championships was held over the weekend (15th/16th November) and delivered everything the crowd at Manchester Aquatics Centre hoped for – high-tempo water polo, standout individual performances and a title match that lived up to its billing.

Watford’s journey to the final, however, after finishing 7th last year, was one of the stories of the championship. Noah Green’s late semi-final goal had sent them into the title match, and the squad showed grit and belief throughout. They finish the weekend as national runners-up, just like in 2023.

Despite the defeat, Watford did not leave empty-handed: their own shot-stopper, Jeremy Rotenberg, was recognised with the Top Goalkeeper award after a string of exceptional displays across the weekend.