he 2010 ASASWR Water Polo Championships held in December has resulted in a silver medal for Dorset’s Junior Men’s team. Competing against Somerset, Gloucester and Devon, all county sides with a long history of water polo competition, this was only Dorset’s fourth intercounty tournament.
The first game against Somerset was a relatively low scoring match ending with a 4-5 loss but the match against Gloucestershire, normally a stronger side than Somerset, resulted in a 7-4 win which was a considerable achievement. Dorset were then straight back into the pool against Devon – by far the strongest side that had easily overcome Gloucestershire, demolished Somerset and had been resting – which resulted in a 12-9 defeat, and Dorset’s best performance ever. With Somerset and Gloucestershire both finishing with the same number of points, Dorset took silver on goal difference – the first medal by a Dorset team in the Championships!
Dorset also entered the ASASWR Mixed Academy 14&U Championships against the two established counties of Devon and Gloucestershire with a record of not having beaten either county in any of the last three championships. The match against Gloucestershire proved frustrating and five early goals before Dorset started scoring proved too much of a deficit to overcome resulting in a 20-12 loss. However the match with Devon proved an entirely different prospect. Dorset got off to a good start and notched up ten goals before Devon could respond, resulting in a magnificent 6-23 win for Dorset – and another silver regional medal for a Dorset side.
Dorset Junior Men’s Team: Oliver Bowen-Ashwin, Matt Cracknell, Joe Foale-Groves, Dustin Mackay, Jack Murray-Tyson, Joe Rammage, James Rogers, George Sparks, Anand Vaithilingham, Sam Webber and Elliot Wilks who was voted Best Overall Player.
Dorset Mixed Academy Team: Christian Flavell, Emily Jack, Ciannan Mann, Charlie Roberts, Mikey Kingsley, Jackson Mullins, Megan Fletcher, Josh Marshall, Billy Uppard, Rhys Kirkpatrick, Jonathan Bowerman