Over the weekend myself and a couple of our WPNSW staff had the opportunity to participate in the Sydney Mardi Gras parade at the SCG alongside members from the Sydney Stingers Club. I would like to thank club president Ben Thomas, club executives and members for this fantastic opportunity.
Dancing and choreographed routines is not my forte, but I enjoyed the challenge and without plenty of assistance and some dancing (practice) in the rain I highly doubt I would have made it to the starting line on Saturday.
It’s always a great experience to get involved with a club and its members. Be it attending a function or presentation night, being pool deck at a regional event/championship or a home game as part of the Sydney Metro competition. It’s these experiences that highlights why being part of a sports community is so great. There is so much more than just today’s game, winning a premiership, or getting selected in a team.
In the office we can often get swept up with the negatives that we unfortunately face daily, so it is refreshing to break away and be involved in the positive side of the sport.
The Sydney Stingers club has done and continues to do a tremendous job of engaging adults either back into or introducing them to our sport. To see players progress from club boot camps to the club run intra competition to grade and up the ranks is amazing.
These individuals are provided a safe space that encourages and supports them to come back week after week to not only develop their water polo skills but to create and grow new friendships within a water polo family.
The invitation to participate with the club pushed my comfort zone. For me to dance in front of thousands of people and be on national tv had me on edge, but I felt accepted and supported around the 40 others surrounding me on the day.
While for me it was dancing, for others it may just be a fear of trying a new sport or signing up to a new community club. I know that we can continue to grow and improve the culture within our clubs, we can and will continue to welcome and support new members to our water polo community. Together we will grow our sport and with it provide more opportunities to those already involved and those looking to be a part.
The parade was over in a flash, but I had a blast all the way until we walked out the other side of the SCG. Thank you to the Sydney Stinger Club and its leadership team for the opportunity and the memories. I look forward to being up for the challenge and experience again next year.
Kind regards,
Alex Godbold
