Boys U18 North West Thunder Secure 3rd Place at the Inter-Regional Championships 2024
The boys U18 team competed at the Inter-Regional Water Polo Championships this weekend coming third in Division 1. Haberdasher’s Boys School near Watford hosted the event which showcased the top 5 regions in the country. The NW Thunder team had a tough start against a well drilled London Sharks side who started quickly. Thunder created plenty of chances early on but were unable to score in the first quarter. Thunder fought hard and the rest of the match was close with London winning 16-7 in the end.
The boys showed their talent in their second match on Saturday beating East Midlands 20-3. The South West put up a good fight in the first game on Sunday morning with the South West keeper making some good saves. The match ended 10-7 to the NW. That left the last match against Ireland meaning a win would put Thunder in the mix for first or second place. Again, the boys created a lot of chances, and the first quarter was close at 2-1 to Ireland. Unfortunately, Ireland pulled away in Q2 and 3, showing why they were eventual winners. The NW team fought to the end and drew the last quarter despite losing 14-3 overall.
The boys were great all weekend and their efforts were faultless. They thoroughly deserved their bronze medal. A group of talented water polo players who with more opportunity to train together could have challenged the top two teams.
Thanks to Coach Dan and Team managers Catherine and Jon for supporting the boys throughout the weekend and to all the volunteer referees and officials.
