NAGS U/19 Boys Qualifying Round – 18/18 Apr

Published: 22 April 2026

NAGS– U/19 Boys Qualifying Round – Sat 18^th and Sunday 19^th April 2026 - Ponds Forge Sheffield

Caledonia U19 Boys won first game at NAGs v Croydon 22-13. 2 goals each for Daniel & John.  Then made it two wins from two for the Caley U19s on day 1. Incredible performance against Penguin 18-7 to almost guarantee a place in Finals weekend. Another 2 goals for John and 1 for Daniel.

Unfortunately the boys were just edged out in game 3 and lost 16-15 to Cheltenham as they also fought hard for a 2nd place and qualification.  However the boys topped the table to go through to the finals on 2/3 May in Gloucester.

Event report - NAGS U/19 Girls Qualifying Round – 18/18 Apr

Published: 22 April 2026

NAGS– U/19 Girls Qualifying Round – Sat 18^th and Sunday 19^th April 2026 - Ponds Forge Sheffield

At the previous Preliminary Round in January, we played 5 games of 4 periods of 5 minutes check time. We did really well to win our first two games against C of Manchester and Exeter but found the next three games more difficult losing to Otter (5-13), WL Penguin (3-12) and Worthing (6-10). We progressed to the Qualifying Round in 4^th place.

In this Qualifying Round we were facing 3 difficult games of 4 periods of 7 minutes. A return game against West London Penguin on the Saturday and two games on the Sunday v Cheltenham and City of Sheffield.

Game 1 v West London Penguin: This was a disappointing performance and result (4-19). Perhaps we were caught cold as it was our first game, but WLP won all 4 periods, won each half 10-2 and 9-2 and we had no answer to their flexible M drop defence and aggressive pressing of the ball carrier. We struggled to drive to create clear goal scoring opportunities nor could we get strong shots away with any real conviction against close pressure and crashing back defence. Most disappointingly was a lack of intent in some players to cover in defence on transitions and WLP Counter attacks. In post-match discussion, we all agreed that we had much to improve on in an attacking and defensive sense and the very minimal we should expect in our next two games was for everyone to work their hardest to support their team-mates and keep fighting till the end of the game irrespective of scoreline.

Game 2 v Cheltenham:

Having to win this game to maintain a chance of qualifying for the Championship Finals, there was early evidence that we had learned some lessons from our first game as despite losing the first goal we fought back to lead 2-1 at the period end. Unfortunately, as Cheltenham increased the intensity of their driving in the middle two periods we struggled in 1v1 defensive exchanges allowing them to score 6 without reply by midway through period 3 with their number 8, J Day scoring 4 goals. Despite losing goals however, we did show increased energy in attack to gain 3 penalties and 2 exclusions and from 7-2 down we won the last half of the 3^rd period 3-2 to trail 5-9 at the three-quarter stage. Changing to an M drop wasn’t as successful as hoped as our defensive cover was disjointed allowing Cheltenham to score another 3 in a row. Switching back to a Press, commendably we finished the game strongly scoring the last 3 goals. An 8-12 defeat but a much improved, performance.

Game 3 v City of Sheffield: Having lost our first two games, we were now unable to qualify for the “Finals” so we went into our last match looking for a win to gain a 3^rd place group finish. The team put in a great shift and in a very exciting and high scoring end to end game, unfortunately came up just short at 17-19.

We started very well leading by 2 goals four times and at 8-7 with just two minutes left in the 2^nd period. Sheffield finished the period strongly however to lead 10-9 at half-time. Despite our positive efforts, Sheffield edged the 3^rd period 4-2 to lead 14-11 at the three-quarter stage with the excellent no 5 A Berrill scoring 4 goals in the middle periods using powerful 1 v 1 moves on the ball. We never gave up however and rallied to score 6 goals with strong counter attacking and perimeter shooting through Erin, Ava, Lucy and Charlotte. From 17-13 and 18-14 down we rallied strongly to trail by just one at 18-17 with 1min 30 secs on the clock but despite much effort we couldn’t force an equaliser as Sheffield scored once more with 30 secs on the clock for a narrow 19-17 victory.

Team and results:

 Reflections:

This was a tough weekend for our girls, losing all three games, one of them very heavily. This first game, result aside, was below our expected standards of application, mental fortitude and team support so the players are to be commended for raising their level and pushing two very experienced and strong teams closely in their next two games. There is no doubt that we have some very strong players too who put in some very good individual performances over the weekend, Lucy was top goal scorer with 17 goals, but it was also clear that a lack of consistent team preparation and varying levels of intensive personal club training did impact at times within our attacking and defensive accuracy and structures. For example, we did well to gain 9 exclusions but under defensive pressure we failed to convert any of them. This aspect of play requires regular practice.

Our next Caley opportunity will be the BMC Cup on the weekend of 5/6^th September 2026. This will be a born 2009 tournament, so Lucy, Millie, Lottie and Erin have now aged out of the Junior team. I would like to thank them for all their efforts and contributions in the last 2 years. It is hoped that they can now progress onto the Caley Senior Women’s squad and also be available for selection to the combined Dunfermline/Menzieshill Senior Women’s team.

As we move forward, it is hoped that we can find more time together to work on both our individual skills and fitness and improve the dynamism, mobility and endurance in our movements in both attack and defence to maintain the high tempo necessary to be a consistent goal threat, apply and cover a counter-attack game and be a strong defensive unit at this age group. This will involve both polo and swim training.

• Upcoming proposed sessions:
• Tuesday and Thursday training – Carnegie Centre –
  • 2011’s and 2012’s – 6:30pm to 8:00pm
  • 2009’s and 2010’s – 7:30pm to 9:00pm
  • 2008’s and older - 8:00pm to 9:30pm
• Scottish Cup games:
  • DWPC - U17 F v Warrender – Sat 30^th May – 13:20 - Carnegie
  • DWPC – U19 F – V Kirkintilloch – Sun 31^st May – 12:40pm – NSA Stirling
  • DWPC/M’Hill – Senior Women – v Warrender – 2:05pm – NSA Stirling
• Upcoming proposed sessions:
• Caley Senior & Junior women – All in the Caley 2009 team are invited:
  • Saturday’s 1:00pm to 3:00pm – Carnegie Centre
  • 13^th June
  • 14^th July
  • 18^th July
  • 8^th August
  • BMC – Cup 5^th/6^th September

In closing, many thanks to all the players for their efforts, to Jillian and Julie for all their excellent team support, organisations and keeping calm amidst train cancellations and delays and to Beatrix, Sharon, Mark, Pauline and Poppy and Paul, Claire and Ellie for travelling down to support the team.

U16 Girls International Water Polo Tournament Korcula, Croatia

Published: 13 April 2026

The SCO junior girls recently went to U16 Girls International Water Polo Tournament Korcula, Croatia. Hali Farah, Ellie Thornton, Molly Oswald and Isla Edwards from Dunfermline were all selected to the SCO team.

Couple of close games for the girls in Croatia. Really tough assignment against some strong teams and playing an age group up.

GB U18 Girls Training Camp

Published: 09 April 2026

Great experience for Ava Thornton away at a Training camp in Greece with GB U18 girls yesterday.  Ava was joined by fellow Scot and Caledonia U19 girls team mate Charlotte Smith.

The team watched NC Vouliagmeni take on Ethnikos Piraeus in a high-quality Greek League clash, before getting the chance to meet the players post-match. 

They were then joined by World & European Champion and Olympic bronze medallist Kitty Lynn Joustra, who shared her insights and experiences with the group.
A brilliant day of learning, inspiration, and top-level water polo — finished off with some competitive practice games in the pool.

 The squad also met with GB Water Polo star Lily Turner, for an insightful Q&A session, as she shared her experiences of competing at senior international level and her role as a key player for Glyfada Water Polo Club.
A really valuable session for the group — plenty of learning, honest insights, and inspiration for the journey ahead