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Support Cole Schmidt to represent New Zealand at the U16 & U18 Water Polo World Championships

  • Update from Argentina.

      16 July 2024

    I am back in New Zealand after being away for a month of water polo. It is good to be home and to have a week's holiday before school starts for Term 3.

    Argentina was very different from Malta and we stayed in a hotel in the centre of town. It was very busy, loud and there was even rioting outside our hotel one day. There are a lot of poor areas and it was interesting to see the contrast of cultures. I did really enjoy the steaks on offer!

    On the water polo front we played well and finished 12th overall, which is the best result for a NZ U18s team since 2012! We beat Colombia 12-7 and Japan 23 -18. We then lost 5-12 to Australia, 9 -24 to Greece, 9 -14 to Brazil and 7 -16 to Turkey. Those games were tough but we gave it our best and we are proud of our ranking.

    I will now be focusing on preparing for the U16 Nationals in Auckland in October where I will represent Waikato.

    Thanks for all of your support.

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  • U16 World Championships update

      27 June 2024
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    I had a wonderful time in Malta and am now on my way to Argentina for the u18 World Championships.

    The people in Malta were lovely, easy going and the atmosphere was pretty relaxed. It seems like a really cool place to live.

    There was a very festive atmosphere at the games and the fans were super supportive and wore matching outfits. Some even had loud hooters, which made it difficult to hear the ref whistle sometimes.

    We played against the Netherlands (lost 4 - 12), Israel (lost 7 -11) and the USA (lost 7 -14) in our pool and then crossed over to play China (lost 6 - 9). We then played Zimbabwe (won 16 -5 ), Peru (won 8-4) and Canada (won 8-7). We finished 1st in the D Division which placed us 25 out of 32 teams and I was awarded Most Valuable Player in the final against Canada.

    The team improved with every game and with two more years of development we should be more competitive at the U18s in 2026.

    Thank you for your support and I will update you again when I get back from Argentina.

    Regards

    Cole

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  • Thank you AFFCO for your generous sponsorship.

      10 May 2024

    AFFCO have offered me financial support and I look forward to working with them in the future.

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