Power play

power play Bendigo’s water polo players are back making a splash after almost two years of COVID-enforced dormancy. The local club even has links to the sport’s most infamous international match of all.

By Raelee Tuckerman - Photography by AJ Taylor

A whistle signals the start of play and there’s a flurry of arms and legs as athletes power through the pool, eager to win their team first possession of the ball. There’s action aplenty above the water, but like the tip of the proverbial iceberg, there can often be quite a bit going on underneath. On this Thursday night at the Faith Leech Aquatic Centre, members of the Bendigo Water Polo Club are engaged in a fierce but friendly social contest so there’s no need for sneaky below-surface tactics (think niggling, bather-pulling or pinching) sometimes seen in cutthroat competition. Still, it’s a tough physical workout for players constantly swimming or treading water for seven-minute quarters, trying to score goals while denying their opponents. “It’s deceptive because it looks relatively easy,” says Kate Jackson, who took up water polo as a teenager 30-odd years ago and has now been joined in the pool by her 12-year-old son Finn. “You swim and throw a ball around: how hard can that be? But a lot of thought goes into positioning and you have to be physically strong and mentally switched on. Good players make it look simple.”

Kate played in Melbourne through high school and university, but came to the Bendigo club while she was teaching in Echuca in the early 2000s and again when she moved here four years ago. She was part of the city’s winning women’s team at the Victorian country championships in 2019. “I love the physicality, the acquisition of fitness, and the teamwork involved in water polo – and this group of people in Bendigo are pretty special,” she says, nodding towards the match underway where males and females, young and old are battling for bragging rights. “It’s so family inclusive and multi-generational – some of us even have our own kids playing alongside us. Gender and generation don’t make any difference.” Water polo has been played in Bendigo since as early as the 1930s and veteran member Ian Symons says the club was particularly active during the 1950s, when a men’s team would travel by train to Melbourne once a week for games. Ian says Bendigo even hosted the Hungarian men’s squad in the lead-up to their infamous 1956 Melbourne Olympics campaign. Just before the Games, Soviet tanks had rolled into the Hungarian capital Budapest and quashed an anti-government uprising, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The Hungarian water polo team faced the USSR in a spiteful Olympic semi-final since dubbed the Blood in the Water game, marred by violent kicking and punching. Hungary emerged victorious and went on to win the gold medal but many of its team never returned home afterwards, instead defecting to the West.

“The Hungarians trained in Bendigo and played some practice matches against the local side in the lake at the old Municipal Baths, adjacent to the present-day aquatic centre,” says Ian. “I understand they were billeted out with people in Bendigo and did some pre-Olympic preparation here. “It’s incredible to think we have a small link to those guys who went through so much.” The 63-year-old has been chasing water polo balls up and down the pool since the Bendigo club was re-established in 1978 by his brother Peter Symons and Eaglehawk identity Peter Boyle. “It was after my brother came back from South Africa, where he had been a Rotary exchange student and had been introduced to water polo,” he says. “He roped us all into playing, and there were four of us brothers (Peter, Rod, Bruce and Ian) in the team together at one stage.” Bendigo won country championships in both 1978 and 1979, and went on to produce a string of talented players who represented their region, state and country. Ian toured New Zealand in the late 1980s with an Australian Country team, while another current player Dean Spencely earned an Australian Country cap in 1998. “We went to Hawaii to play an international competition and trained in the US with the American Country team,” says Dean, who enjoyed travelling around Victoria and interstate for his sport and now shares the water with son Finnegan. “It opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for me – water polo can take you places you never thought you’d go.” Other notable names on the Bendigo honour roll include Paul Edebone, who was an emergency for an Australian Olympic team; the Pridham sisters (Molly, Bonnie and Lily) and Richards siblings (Olivia and Elise), who represented Victoria as juniors or played State League competition; and Aileen Vanderfeen, whose administrative contribution to the sport has seen her awarded life membership at local, Vic Country and Victorian associations. Club vice-president Dave Symons says it is fantastic to be back in action after a long layoff due to coronavirus, though games didn’t start until after Christmas due to ongoing uncertainty.

“COVID-19 had a significant impact on us,” says Dave (yes, he is Ian’s son and followed in his father’s sporting footsteps). “Our season usually runs from around November until the end of March, but we hadn’t played for almost two years. It’s a contact sport played in close proximity to opponents and teammates, so it really wasn’t an option to try and play on through the pandemic.” He says several newcomers have recently played their first games, with the club promoting a laid-back, welcoming and inclusive culture and always looking to expand its membership. The only requirements are reasonably strong swimming skills and a positive attitude. “I’ll be honest, it isn’t an easy sport to pick up if you don’t have reasonable swimming skills,” says Dave. “It’s typically fast-paced, and involves swimming from end to end at pace (20m or so), treading water, and sometimes grappling with opponents. “At our local level, we are a bit slower so basic skills will get you by. But in any sort of tournament, you will require strong swimming skills to keep up with the game. “A typical newcomer session involves being introduced to the other players, before a short tutorial and/or skills session to become familiarised with ball handling and the basic rules, before we play a game to conclude. “It really is a great environment to be in, so we’d love anyone who has ever considered water polo as a sport they might enjoy, to come down just once to try it. They won’t be disappointed!” The final word goes to Kate Jackson, who adds: “Like with any small sport, when you find your tribe, you know they’re your people and you’ll always feel included. I’ve found my tribe with water polo.” For more information, visit www.facebook.com/bendigopolo