Northside Stingrays Success Story

Nat Beddoes reflects on the achievements of Northside Stingrays Water Polo Club over the last few years, and how they used the WPNSW development grant to boost women’s participation in our sport:

Two years ago, Northside Stingrays Water Polo Club did not have any women’s teams and our men’s team were holding the club together by a thread.

We took a risk and with the help of WPNSW’s Development Grant subsidised our Women’s regos by 50% last year. This meant we were able to enter a B grade team! The risk paid off, as this year we had both B and C grade women’s teams with our U14’s and U16’s girls’ teams at capacity.

We have seen several women return to the club and we have also seen women take up the sport for the first time. Alina Saunders is one of those players, as a lifeguard she had observed all the clubs and loved the way we conducted ourselves as a club, that was the deciding factor for why she joined.

Debbie Harvey and her daughter also returned to the club this year, having observed the club last year and loved the energy and fun about the club. Deb's knowledge and love for the game have been awesome to help our younger players learn to love and respect the game, we are incredibly happy to have her back!

We have also worked with Ovens & Murray to structure a Northside Development team in A grade. Each week the club we played the previous week offers up to 4 players (2 developing and 2 mentors) to join the squad and play against the bye team in a ‘not for points’ game. This is providing and a strong pathway for our girls to enter the A grade, a competitive game, and a great learning environment.

This year we used the grant across all players, as we saw this as a fair and equitable division of funds. as we are a family club where partners, families, sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters all play!

The greater balance of male and female members within the club has seen us grow rapidly and is creating a space with more respect and gender equity. We support and encourage all members to referee and coach from a young age, we have kids coaching kids, and we are working hard to provide the tools to make this easier. Our men’s teams have also worked hard over the past few seasons and are now seeing the success, like the women we have seen players return to the game after years away who are loving it!