Kids in hotbed of talent

A remote community without a swimming pool may seem like an unlikely location for a water polo game but One Arm Point is a hotbed of talent in the sport according to 2000 Olympic gold medallist Simone Fountain.

“All of the kids are so gifted athletically,” she said.

“They were all out fishing when we got there but as soon as we started up they were straight into it, they love the water and they’re so confident in the water.”

Ms Fountain was in the community last week as part of a tour of the Dampier Peninsula with Garnduwa and Department of Sport and Recreation staff and arranged a game of modified water polo or flipperball.

Flipperball’s rules allow players to stand during the game but Ms Fountain said the game moved onto regular water polo quickly because the kids were picking the game up so quickly. And an incoming tide quickly flooded the field.

After the great response from kids at One Arm Point there are plans afoot to hold clinics in communities and towns throughout the Kimberley.

Ms Fountain said the program was believed to be unique in the world of water polo and showed the innovative ways Garnduwa was using to get kids in remote communities involved in different sports. Water polo is starting up again in Broome on February 11, for more information contact Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre.