Apr 17, 2024

2024 Australian UWH Nationals

Cairns hosted the 2024 Australian Underwater Hockey Nationals Championships at Tobruk Memorial Pool from April 11th to 15th. This year, the championships were divided into two categories: juniors and seniors. The junior division kicked off on Thursday, April 10th, featuring both the U15s and U19s.

TEAM RESULTS

NSW U15s

4th

Coach: Nat Marshall

We were thrilled to send an U15s team from NSW to Nationals in 2024. Our squad consisted of players from our Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle clubs, with one player from Cooktown completing the 10-person team. They faced a tough challenge, playing 9 games over 2 and a half days. Despite this, they showed impressive teamwork and skill improvement in each game, leading to a spectacular victory against Victoria on the second day. The team placed 4th, narrowly missing out on bronze after a closely contested match against Western Australia. Our junior athletes made the most of their time together. They enjoyed team dinners, a fun event with laser tag and ice skating, and a memorable trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We are looking forward to doing it all again in 2025!

SA U19s

BRONZE

Coach: Mark Mooney

This year, we had three NSW players join the South Australian U19s team. The under 19s competition was intense, with all state teams performing strongly. In the battle for the bronze medal against Victoria, the South Australian team put up a strong fight. The game was so close that it went into extra time, and it was only after a golden goal that South Australia secured the bronze medal.

NSW Elite Women

4th

Coach: Ben Stepkovitch

The NSW elite women had a largely new squad compared to recent years. Despite being primarily made up of players from Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra they had very few opportunities to train together before the competition. They started the competition with a 3-1 win over QLD B and went down to SA 5-2 and played valiantly against the other states in the rest of the round robin but unfortunately did not qualify for the semi-finals. The NSW women improved heaps over the course of the competition, winning the 5th playoff against QLD B at the end of the comp. It will be great to see how this team grows together for next nationals.*out of medal eligible teams

NSW Elite Open

4th

Coach: Joel Hattie

The NSW elite open team had 7 players who competed at the World Championships last year and had high expectations for the competition. It was a fiercely close division this year. The opening game was a scrappy 3-3 draw against Tasmania. They went down in close contests against the other top teams in the round robin and qualified for the finals after beating QLD B and the COLTS, and by conceding less goals than TAS across the round robin to scrap into the finals. Unfortunately they went out in the finals in straight sets losing the semi to VIC and the bronze to QLD.

COLTS Elite Open

7th

Coach: Stino

In a surprising twist, the COLTS team entered the competition at the eleventh hour, bringing together a mix of young talent and seasoned players from various Australian states. The team was composed of 3 players each from New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia, along with 2 players from Victoria, and 1 from Western Australia. Their sudden inclusion added a layer of excitement to the tournament, as they were given a unique opportunity to showcase their skills and trial for a spot in the upcoming U24 Elite Men's team for the 2024 World Championships. The COLTS team had an interesting composition. Half of the players were balancing dual commitments, playing in both the U19s and the Elite Open categories. The other half were solely focused on the Elite Open division. This dynamic presented both challenges and opportunities. The players had to adapt quickly to new teammates and playing styles, but it also allowed them to learn from each other and bring a variety of experiences to the field.

REFEREES

Thanks to those who gave up their time to referee the competition, including Jenny and Julian from NSW.

Regards,
Isaak Campbell