Country Victoria’s best water polo players will invade Bendigo this weekend.
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The Bendigo Water Polo Association is hosting the Victorian Country Championships at the Bendigo Aquatic Centre.
Many of the players who will be in Bendigo this weekend have competed for country Victoria in the national championships and some have gone on to represent Australian country teams playing in tournaments as far as Hawaii.
Teams from across Victoria are entered for the championships, including Albury, Bairnsdale, Geelong and Surfcoast.
Bendigo has entered strong teams in men’s and women’s in the competitions this year.
The women will be led by Bendigo’s strongest junior product in recent years, Lily Pridham.
Pridham has had a stellar year for Essendon in the Victorian state competition in Melbourne with her team winning the league championship in the under-16s and under-18s.
Pridham played a major role where she top scored in both finals despite being two years younger than many of her competitors.
She will be joined by her sisters Bonnie and Molly, who have been part of this championship many times before and offer a strong voice and senior leadership for the team.
Keeley Scarce, one of the of the most improved women in Bendigo in recent years, will be looking forward to having a solid hit-out over this weekend.
The men’s side has entered one of its strongest teams in recent years.
Returning to the Bendigo side is big man Dave Symons, who offers a powerful shot and strong defensive capabilities.
Jack of all trades Tim Carew is also returning to the Bendigo squad and can play any position required.
Second-year player Evan Kovesy has improved in games this year and his six-foot eight-inch arm-span plays havoc with opposition attackers.
Bendigo veterans Ian Symons and Dean Spencely return to the pool with almost 40 years of experience between them.
Bendigo senior coach Paul McKenzie expects his side to put on a stronger performance this year and test some of the powerhouse sides of Victorian Country water polo.
The country Victorian water polo titles will be played at the Bendigo Aquatic Centre all day on Saturday and Sunday.
The men’s and women’s finals will be held on Sunday afternoon from 1pm.
The Bendigo Water Polo Association is hosting the tournament with the support of its sponsors APCO, Grilled, McCullochs and the Bendigo Bank.