AUSSIE SHARKS NAME SQUAD AHEAD OF WORLD LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON THE GOLD COAST

The Australian Men’s Water Polo Team, the Aussie Sharks, have named their squad ahead of the FINA World League Intercontinental Tournament that will be held on the Gold Coast from 25-30 April 2017.

A new look side for the Aussie Sharks will go head to head with teams from USA, Japan, China, New Zealand and Kazakhstan.

The top-ranked sides from the World League Tournament on the Gold Coast will qualify through to the FINA World League Final that will be held in June in Russia.

Australian Head Coach, Elvis Fatovic, said the FINA World League Tournament, Gold Coast, provides the ideal opportunity for Aussie athletes to experience competing at an international tournament in front of a home crowd.

“Being able to play in our home country will be a great experience for our team.  This is a young, new team for us, especially with some of our players unavailable due to playing commitments in Europe and USA,” said Fatovic.

“It’s an opportunity for many of our players to step up and take on a new challenge.

“Most of the teams that will be visiting we know will be tough.  We can expect Japan to be the same strong side we faced at the Olympic Games, we also know the USA will be tough and I believe Kazakhstan will have a reasonable team.

“We don’t know exactly what to expect from China as we haven’t seen a lot from them. But then there is New Zealand who we are very familiar with after a few training sessions with them earlier in the year. All round it will be an exciting competition for the teams and spectators,” he said.

The Aussie Sharks will head into camp on the Gold Coast next week as they prepare for the Tournament.  They will be joined by the USA team for a few training games late next week.

The FINA World League Intercontinental Tournament will kick off on ANZAC Day with Australia set to take on New Zealand.

EVENT DETAILS

FINA World League Intercontinental Tournament

Dates: 25-30 April 2017

Location: Gold Coast Aquatic Centre

Who: Australia, USA, Japan, China, New Zealand and Kazakhstan

Daily Session Times(25-29 April): Game1, 3:30pm; Game 2, 4:50pm; Game 3, 6:10pm

Finals Times (Sunday 30 April): 5^th vs 6^th, 9:20am; 3^rd vs 4^th, 10:40am; 1^st vs 2^nd, 12:00noon

Tickets: Available at the door. $20 Adults, $10 Children and $50 family of four (2 adults and 2 children)

AUSTRALIAN TEAM TRAINING CAMP

Dates: 17-24 April 2017

Location: Gold Coast Aquatic Centre

Who: Australian Men’s Water Polo Squad and USA Men’s Water Polo Team (from 20-23 April)

AUSTRALIAN MEN’S WATER POLO SQUAD