With each mother and father and an aunt all representing Australia in water polo, Stingers captain Zoe Arancini was all the time going to dive into the game.
However the three-time Olympian and Paris silver medallist says not everybody has the chance to have a go on the fast-paced and at occasions brutal sport.
Whereas water polo is performed all around the nation, it is without doubt one of the most unique and costly sports activities to play at a group degree, with registration charges in some competitions breaking the $500 mark.
To register as a junior participant (under-14 to under-18) for the 2024/25 summer time competitors at Ryde Water Polo Membership in north-west Sydney will value mother and father simply over $680.
Mother and father and gamers additionally have to pay for pool entry for sport days and coaching, uniforms, and greater than $150 in charges to the game’s state and nationwide governing our bodies.
Arancini advised AAP water polo was neither accessible nor reasonably priced.
“It is narrowing the taking part in area with how a lot it’s costing, and the price of residing is making it even tougher,” she mentioned.
Water polo is without doubt one of the few sports activities in Australia the place you pay to play, which means registration charges don’t cowl use of the pool.
Arancini says it’s because there are merely not sufficient swimming pools.
“There may be additionally entry to the swimming pools, particularly in Sydney. You are competing for house with swimmers and different aquatic packages,” she mentioned.
Arancini says it isn’t simply charges stopping younger individuals from taking part in the game, but in addition accessibility and site.
There isn’t any water polo membership in Western Sydney, the closest being the Blue Mountains Water Polo Membership in Glenbrook, 63km west of the Sydney CBD.
This worries Arancini, who needs to see extra younger individuals taking part in water polo after the Stingers’ silver-medal success on the Paris Olympics.
She mentioned Water Polo Australia must be working with former Olympians and gamers to make the game accessible for all.
“However why aren’t we concerned, you recognize? I’d like to be part of that progress,” Arancini mentioned.
“How can we make it (water polo) extra accessible for extra athletes? I believe that’s the place different international locations are just a little bit higher (than Australia).
“I believe it’s all about speaking to athletes, and Water Polo Australia have to get enter from the golf equipment round it.”
In its 2023 annual report, Water Polo Australia reported there have been simply over 20,100 lively members nationally, with the best price of membership in NSW and Queensland, adopted by WA.
Water polo is performed in each state and territory apart from the Northern Territory.
AAP