Page 49 - MACCABI_VICTORIA_ANNUAL_REPORT_2021

AJAX MACCABI WATER POLO CLUB INC REPORT
President: Paul Fleiszig

COVID has severely disrupted the water polo in Victoria over the
last 12 months.
The club competed in two seasons which were both cut short due to COVID
outbreaks. We entered two teams in the Winter Championships and the State
Championships. Our State League 3 team had mixed results, playing extremely
well some weeks and poorly others.
The team finished mid-table when both seasons were cut short.

Our State League 7 team welcomed a raft of new younger players. The team
refresh created a lot of enthusiasm, with many of the new players never playing
competition water polo before.
As the State Championships went on, the improvement was remarkable. By the
time the State Championships were cancelled, the side was very competitive,
beating teams that had thrashed us earlier in the season.

The year started with the annual Polo by The Pier competition in Portsea. We
entered a combined team in the social competition. This was our first tournament
since 2019 and was a great hit out. Mixing our younger inexperienced players with
our seasoned top players in a rough Port Philip Bay was a great experience for all.
We finished third out of 20 teams which was a great result.
Despite the disruption to the season, the club continued training at Bialik pool
when ever the COVID rules allowed us to. We are very excited to start again.

Victorian Water Polo plans to commence a new season in mid-November, COVID
rules permitting, and the club intends to start training again as soon as we are
allowed.