Rory Nesbitt, 22, is in their squad that will travel to Slovenia to compete in the European qualification tournament.
He is the first senior male player from the club to be selected since 2014, having been part of a training squad for around six months, and, having not been selected for a fixture earlier in the year, he admitted it was a surprise.
Rory, who is a PE teacher, said: “To make the squad for me was a massive achievement, so I was happy with that at the start of the year, and then to get the call-up was massive.
“I’m absolutely buzzing. I got a heads-up from the assistant manager, who’s also Scottish, and he sent me a text saying, just a heads-up, calls are going out tomorrow.
“I didn’t know if he was saying that to everyone, but then I got the call from him. It was actually in between some of my classes, so it came as a big surprise when I was at school!
“It’s the most competitive, highest-level I’ll probably ever play at in my life. I’ve worked really hard to try and get to this moment.
![Rory Nesbitt will be hoping to help GB qualify for the European Championships.]()
Rory Nesbitt will be hoping to help GB qualify for the European Championships. (Image: Courtesy of Rory Nesbitt.) “I remember there was an opportunity to go down and trial a couple of years ago. I put it off because I didn’t think I was ready, and then I always said that was going to be the next said.
“For the last three or four years, it’s been in my mind to try and make it into the GB squads and work hard, so I’m just really happy to finally achieve that, and see the results of hard work.”
Rory, who grew up in Kinross, first got involved with Dunfermline at the age of 10 or 11, and has gone on to represent Scotland.
He and his GB team-mates travelled to Slovakia for an invitational tournament, playing four matches, which saw Rory net a goal on his debut, in preparation for the Euro qualifiers.
They will face hosts Slovenia, the Netherlands, Poland and Czechia, over three days, with the top two progressing to next year’s finals.
“I think everyone’s really optimistic,” Rory continued.
“The games we had at the weekend were against really, really good teams. They’re regulars at European Championships, they’re regulars at World Cups, and other tournaments around Europe and the world.
“It’s a good experience to play against high-level opposition, and it’s helped us familiarise ourselves with the team, because obviously everyone’s coming from different clubs, and nobody plays that regularly with each other.
“It’s given us really good preparation going into the tournament.
“We’re trying to get in that top two finish to qualify for the Euros. We’re definitely aiming for that, and we’re not ruling it out, but it’ll be tough to get there.”
The qualifiers begin on Saturday and run until next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, also this Saturday, Dunfermline are in action at the Scottish Water Polo Cup finals.
Taking place at The Olympia, Dundee, their under-17 women’s side, and the senior men, will go for glory against Warrender and Portobello respectively.
