Kate Gynther talks women in water polo for International Women's Day

For Olympic water polo player, former Aussie Stinger and current Police woman Kate Gynther, water polo has had a huge impact on her life, both in and out of the pool. In honour of International Women's Day (8/03/2019) she shared her expereinces with Water Polo Queensland. 

What does being a woman in sport mean to you? How have you benefited from it?

For me, because I’ve always played water polo I don’t know if being a female has ever been an advantage or a disadvantage. I think we are really lucky to play a sport where women’s water polo is very strong and well supported. Being involved in sport has helped me to grow and develop as a person, I actually think that’s the case for both men and women. Personally, it has helped me to become a strong female and gain confidence to carry over into the workforce and the career that I have now. Water polo has helped me to be comfortable with who I am and what I do.  

How have you seen the sporting landscape change over the years to become more inclusive?

Water polo has always been really supportive of its women’s teams. I think the biggest thing for me within water polo would be seeing the development of female coaches and officials, I think it’s a lot more prominent today. It’s great to see young women being coached by women who have been there and done that.  Women who have gone through some really hard times, when they were playing or when they were involved themselves, to see them giving back and being supportive is amazing.

I think with sport in general, seeing the support that more women’s sports are getting, whether that’s in the media or through funding is definitely more than what it was in the past and that’s great to see.

How you think Water Polo empowers women?

Personally, I think it taught me and teaches girls when they are coming up through juniors to be strong and proud. You have to be relatively strong and fit to play, like any sport but water polo teaches girls to have that confidence and to be proud of who they are. It’s one of those sports that’s inclusive, anyone can play it, no matter their body type, size, height etc… it includes everyone. It teaches girls to be fit and that it’s ok to be strong, to be proud of that and be proud of who they are.

Do you feel supported as an athlete?

Yes definitely, my coaching is more at a club level I don’t have any aspirations to be a high-level coach, I enjoy coaching at the club level and the state junior level. There has definitely been the support there, people wanting me to be involved with the club or state junior teams and that’s great to see.

 What advice would you give to other women in sport? Especially to young up and coming water polo players.

The biggest thing is to enjoy what you do, whether that is playing water polo, another sport or even if it’s a different chosen career that you do. It’s really key to actually enjoy what you’re doing so it doesn’t feel like work every single day. Find something that you love doing and just give it a go.

As a coach how do you see your role in fostering the next generation of players? What values do you try to instil?

I enjoy coaching the younger age groups. While I enjoy teaching the tactical side of the game and the specific skills for me it’s the sport as a whole which I like to teach. This includes things like work ethic and respect, having respect for yourself, for your teammates, for your coaches and for everyone else that’s involved which carries over to everyday life. Being respectful and having the confidence and everything that goes along with sport, not just the actual physical side of the game.