Sports
Who’ll come away with Female U19 National Age Group gold?
The GoCardless Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships 2025 (U17/U19) take place at the Alan Higgs Sports Centre in Coventry this weekend.
In the build up to the competition, we’re taking a closer look at each of the sides that are looking to become national champions in the Midlands on Sunday.
Here, in the final of our four previews we take a look at the U19 open teams that have qualified for finals weekend.
Each of the previews for the event will be posted on the Swim England website within the water polo hub, whilst those who haven’t had the chance to get their tickets in advance can purchase them on venue, subject to availability.
Defending champions Cheltenham return to finals weekend after securing their first gold in the event 12 months ago.
They took gold in a dominant display in Gloucester last year, defeating Worthing and City of Sheffield in style to take the gold.
They return with a young squad this time around with a team that is primed to impress both this weekend and in National Age Group Championships going forward.
A repeat of last year’s final with Sheffield kicks off their campaign on Saturday and Head Coach Katy Ross is looking forward to another exciting competition.
She said: “Cheltenham are delighted to have qualified again for the National Age Group Championship Finals weekend.
“It’s always a highlight in our junior calendar and our U19s are very much looking forward to defending their title!
“Unlike last year, which saw us field a core of 2006 and 2007 born girls, this year’s squad is comprised of some very promising and confident younger players, many of whom have several years left in this competition.
“In fact, five are eligible for the U15 competition at the end of this year! It’s a hugely exciting time to be involved in women’s water polo, with so many more opportunities opening up for our female players.
“Two of our top players in this age group won’t make this weekend’s Finals, because they will be representing the CSWPC Senior Women at the Nordic League Finals in Malta, alongside City of Manchester. We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone in Coventry on Saturday at what promises to be, as always, a brilliant weekend for junior British water polo.”
Squad: Alexandra Haslam (GK), Georgia Haslam (C), Megan Ross, Luisa Borgia, Ella Webster, Imogen Blassberg, Pippa Forrest, Jess Day, Alice Ross, Lucy Paterson, Sophia Kania, Edith Clarke. Head Coach: Katy Ross. Assistant Coach: Stu McKie. Team Manager: Laura Kania.
After back-to-back podium finishes at the Championships, City of Sheffield’s U19s women’s side head to Coventry looking to go one better.
In 2024, they overcame the defending champions in Manchester to reach the final and this time round they’ll be looking to take on Cheltenham in their opening match.
An unbeaten run in qualifying puts them in a strong position to impress this weekend and Head Coach Gabby Williams says her side are ready to leave everything in the pool as they trek to the Midlands.
“Sheffield are hungry for the win,” she said. “We have a strong team and are ready to give it our all.
“Last year we went in as the underdogs against Manchester where we produced a thrilling semi-final, beating the reigning champions to silver.
“This year we are ready to do the same again, against last year’s champions, Cheltenham.
“It is a young squad, who have consistently won bronze at this level and they have been training relentlessly to do one better this year. The majority of this squad went to the EU Nations in November, which has given them all an extra drive and passion to improve their game.
“I’m incredibly proud of their performance at the qualifiers. To top the table, with those scorelines was a great effort, with every player contributing to the result.
“We are ready to fight to the final whistle and will be leaving everything we have in the pool. We do that and we leave with our heads held high no matter the result. A big thank you to our finals sponsor SPR Malta.”
Squad: Laura Skelton (C), Connie Swainson (VC), Severn Annakin, Lauren Bellett, Alice Berrill, Georgie Coles, Hannah Croker, Rowena Kanan, Izzi Olcer , Ruby Taylor, Caitlin Urquhart, Anna Woodhall. Head Coach: Gabby Williams. Assistant Coach: Kevin Swainson. Team Manager: Rachel Skelton
City of Liverpool were one of the standout teams inside their home pool in the Qualification Round.
The Merseyside outfit were only third in the preliminaries but went on to top Group B ahead of defending champions Cheltenham.
A 9-5 win over the Gloucestershire based team as well as knocking off Worthing and West London Penguin sent a statement that they’re ready to go for gold this weekend.
Captain Isabelle Ibbs returns to the competition after scoring seven as the club narrowly missed out on an U17 medal two years ago and she’s excited to be back at finals weekend this time around.
She said: “We’re really excited to be back at the National Age Group Championship finals weekend after just missing out last year!
“Playing in the British Water Polo League this season has been such a valuable experience for all of us and has definitely helped us prepare for the tough matches ahead.”
Squad: Jenna Binks, Lucy Davis, Abbie Evans, Jess Freeman, Abigail Harrison, Isabella Ibbs (C), Francesca Lucas, Tillie McGeehan, Fleur Morris, Annie Rowland, Sianna Tamlin, Isobella Taylor, Ataliah Taylor-Potts, Hannah Tunbridge, Lily Watson. Head Coach: Alice Byrne. Assistant Coach: Laura Hesketh. Team Manager: Sian Freeman.
Head Coach Nick Hume leads his Bristol side to Coventry as the club hunts for his first National Age Group title in this event.
He leads a group that’s looking forward to a ‘great test’ after they topped the table in the Preliminary Round.
Four wins from four booked their spot in the qualification stage where there only blip came against a strong Sheffield team that are regular medalists in the competition.
Hume can rely on some of his players from Great Britain’s U18s squad in Georgia Haines, India Knights-Hume and captain Harriet Bates to help lead his side to victory on Saturday when they face Liverpool at the Alan Higgs Centre.
Speaking ahead of the event Hume said that his side have been training hard in the lead up to the event. He said: “We’re really looking forward to the semi-final. It’s going to be a great test.
“The girls have been training relentlessly, going up against our senior ladies to push themselves further. If we perform at our best, we know we’re a tough team to beat.
“We’re ready to compete and will give everything – but ultimately, may the best team win.”
Squad: Esme Griffiths, Heidi Kilb, Abbie Johnson, Josephine Lamont Tuckett, Harriet Bates (C), Eliza Shearn, Dalma Sinkovicz, India Knights-Hume, Georgia Haines, Darcey Tomlinson, Olivia Llewelyn-Davies, Manon Lyhtgoe, Fifi Pullen. Head Coach: Nick Hume. Assistant Coach: Louise Betts. Team Manager: Deby Herring.
You can keep up with all the action from the weekend by following our live scoreboard, whilst the Swim England website and social media channels will be providing regular updates on everything happening in Coventry.
Swim England’s official event’s photographer, Will Johnston Photography, will also be on hand throughout the weekend and the full gallery will be available here.