Narrabri Dolphins Water Polo Club president Dean Clarke recently ran a session for school students of both Narrabri High School and Wee Waa High School to introduce teenagers to the game.
The founder and president of the recently formed club put a keen group of Narrabri students through their paces at the Narrabri Aquatic Centre last Wednesday.
About 60 students attended the day, but some chose to watch from the pool deck while others jumped into the water to learn some skills and have a game.
Clarke took some of the stronger swimmers down to the deep end and club secretary Maggie Irwin oversaw some of the less confident swimmers at the shallower end of the pool.
Clarke told The Courier that the club and the students enjoyed the session, and he thought that introducing the game to teenagers was crucial for the future of the sport and the club here in Narrabri.
“It went a bit better than I thought it would,” Clarke said.
“There was a massive amount of kids there. About 60 I reckon. But not all of them participated. A few just decided to watch on.
“By the time we started playing a game, a few of them had dropped off, but we were still able to have a game and the kids that played seemed to enjoy it.
“One of the teachers that was there even approached Maggie and said that they wanted to enter a school teachers’ team in the comp next year.
“So it was a good day.
“It’s important to run sessions like this too. You really need the juniors because the juniors will feed into the seniors over the next few years.
“The juniors is where we are lacking a bit at the moment (one the Sunday training/come and try sessions).
“Eight-13-year-olds, we have been getting about 10 a week on average.
“But in the 14-17-year-old boys age group there’s only been five or six there, so we really need to boost the juniors.”
The club was officially formed when it held its annual general meeting on Sunday, March 5.
Joining Clarke and Irwin on the club’s executive were Lauren Eather (vice-president) and Melanie Clarke (treasurer).
There were also six people who put their hand up to become general committee members, including Nick Brennan, Tim Brooker, Tash Rutter, Anne Bennett, Karla Carruthers and Lisa Mullen.
The club will now host two more Sunday sessions, this weekend and then the one after, before breaking for the off-season.
