Ross Kendall
The Byron Bay Waterpolo Club hosted the 29th annual Fives competition at the local pool last weekend.
All the places in the competition were booked out two months in advance and the number of women’s teams doubled to six this year. The number of men’s teams was also up.
‘The numbers were brilliant,’ organiser Brendan Irwin said. ‘It was especially good to see the lift in the women’s numbers.
‘We had our first team from Sydney, as well as teams from Newcastle, Canberra and Queensland.
‘The ability of all the teams was really good’.
Waterpolo Fives is the short form of the game, where teams have five in the water with three on the bench. In a normal game of waterpolo there are up to 13 players.
Fives is also played continuously, so after a goal there is no official restart. The goalie just throws in.
‘This means it is a faster game, and can be more tactical,’ Brendan said.
In the women’s final the Guppies were too strong for the Sunshine Coast-based Silly Sea Sisters.
In the men’s final the Yeronga (Brisbane) side returned to the winners’ circle, after finishing second last year, after downing competition favourites Nordek (Canberra).
Competition ran for most of the weekend
‘It’s a very social competition, it is all about participation,’ Brendan said.
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