Following up on Mountfort Park’s Men’s team entry in Auckland Water Polo’s 2023 inaugural Senior Open League, the club has been delighted to field both a Men’s and Women’s team in the 2024 season. The club welcomed the return of a number of previous athletes with some very competitive performances against other Auckland clubs. The league proved itself a winner with great engagement from participants who played hard but fair, and from a poolside view, relished being back in the water.

Kurt Goldsworthy, Mountfort’s Director of Coaching, took the women’s team and was pleased how his charges came together and had some good wins, “We were a team with a wide age range and took a bit of time to gel, however we soon became very competitive, with some strong results against the other teams''. From an overall perspective Kurt highlighted “the club’s programme and the open league has been extremely beneficial for all athletes, whether it was for advancement or continuation of participation”.

Chris Wall, Mountfort’s Senior Men’s Coach reflected that “the Men’s team continued to show grit, as having at times being challenged by some strong teams in the league. Their collective team spirit and work ethic has led to substantial improvements from 2023 and we were delighted to get a win over Waitakere during the season. It has been great to see the Mountfort Men’s and Women’s teams train together and push each other for the mutual benefit of both teams. It has also been great to see a number of our senior athletes coaching the Mountfort junior teams and contributing to the ongoing growth of the club. A key highlight is the culture that is growing in the team as they continue to enjoy their water polo and strive for improvement”.

Mountfort Park are highly appreciative of the work done by Auckland Water Polo to establish and oversee the league and are very much in tune with the goals and aspirations of the Senior Open League shared by Fabian Wanrooij, Auckland Water Polo's Community and Competitions Manager,  “the Auckland Water Polo (AWP) Open Senior League offers a platform to enjoy water polo at a regional competitive level for those having transitioned from school to university, or into full time work. This is a critical transition for retaining water polo players past the age of 17. AWP has seen a steady increase in the number of senior members involved in the sport over the past 3 years (past covid), which can be directly attested to the development of the Open League. AWP believes that anyone in the Auckland region should be able to play water polo between the ages of 12+ and 60+ at a level that brings them enjoyment and keeps them actively engaged in the water polo community!”

Mountfort Park’s Senior Programme will now focus on the upcoming Division 2 National League tournaments whilst looking forward to the 2025 edition of the Auckland Water Polo Open League. Those senior athletes who may be interested in returning to the water with Mountfort Park are encouraged to contact our Senior Men’s and Women’s Coordinators via the links on the club website homepage.