"On the Ball with the GM" 9

“On the Ball with the GM” 9

Posted by: admin

Dear Water Polo players, officials, and stakeholders,

Probably the single most important contributor to the success of any organisation is unity. This is why unity has become a primary strategic focus for the Board of WPWA.

So, what does it mean? What creates and sustains unity and how do you measure it?

These were all questions that were central to the Club Forum that was conducted 16 September. A number of club representatives came together (some zooming in) at WAIS to take part in a unity workshop that followed a brief overview of the strategic and operational plans for WPWA presented by Board Chair Anthony Rowbottam and General Manager Kevin Knapp.

Board Member Donna Barwood facilitated the unity workshop with participants taking part in a number of rounds of engagement and brainstorming to address the key questions concerning unity (meaning, contribution and measurement).

Unity is……

With a commitment to unity, we will develop as a sport, maximise opportunities and deal with challenges effectively and efficiently. Thank you to everyone who took part in the workshop and for collaborating to provide some clarity and direction for this critical focus area and strategic value for Water Polo WA.

Our thanks to WAIS for providing an excellent venue to run the event and also to Phil Gregson from Healthway for attending and participating. This was a fun event and most importantly, one that saw participation across the organisation with board members, staff, metropolitan and country association representation. Real unity in action!!

National State Championships (NSC) – Poetry in Motion and Unity in Action

It was my great pleasure to visit the Gold Coast to watch and support our 17&U and 15&U female state teams compete in the NSC from 23 – 27 September. It became very clear to me that this is a very special group of athletes, managers and coaches and that they are a demonstration of the unity we want to celebrate and develop across our sport. I want to personally thank everyone who took part (including the spectators) for being such excellent ambassadors for WPWA!

I don’t think I can possibly capture the unity vibe that was on display so here is what the players had to say in word and deed. You be the judge, but I think this is all pretty unified!!

Friendships that are made in sport are always stronger than others.

We played against each other for so long it was nice to play as a team

When on the way to the airport and your van breaks down its doesn’t mean u will miss your flight!! Especially when we all work together to find a solution!

The experience of playing together and getting to know each other after a long rivalry between clubs during JSL, was a lot of fun. Although we struggled during our games, it was good to be able to pick each other up and keep each other playing at their best. We were all able to learn from each other and become better players because of it.

“We had the best managers and coaches! (lol)

Although the games were more challenging than we had expected we were able to play well as a team and we improved with every game. We learnt a lot and it was a great experience. I loved the friendships we made within our team and it was good getting to know girls from other clubs.

The tour was a positive experience as it enabled us to improve our skills and game play as a team. The games were challenging but we all had each other’s backs and improved as time went on. I have made lots of memories and friendships that I will hold onto forever.

The tour was definitely one of the best experiences I have had. Although the games were challenging and a lot different considering we had been playing only Perth teams for a few years, the way our team always made the good from the bad really cheered the tournament up. It was so amazing meeting amazing girls that always had a good laugh considering we had been rivals for years and our amazing coach and manager taught us so many new things.

Managing, coaching, playing – collaborating

We could see the difference between the start of the tournament and the end because as time progressed and we got closer within our team, it was made evident in our gameplay that we were much stronger, working together more in the pool showing how much we improved as a group over the course of the tour. This is why teamwork is so important, because the relationships and bonds made outside of the pool help to drive the successes we have in the water.

It was the best experience and taught us so much about water polo games, even though they were tough we learnt from everyone what not to do and what to do and overall improving the whole time. We made great friends and had the best atmosphere with the best mems to last forever.

It was a fun and great experience for us to verse other states in a tough competition when we haven’t travelled for 2 years. Made new friends from other states and can’t wait to catch up at AYC – Poppy Rawlings

I feel like we all got to know each other and the sport heaps more and had lots of fun. – Emily Murdoch