Great Britain U19 Men's water polo side selected for European competitions

A squad of 14 players has been selected to represent Great Britain’s U19 men’s water polo side at two prestigious European tournaments.

The British side will first travel to Slovakia for the Novaky Cup, before returning home for the qualifying tournament of the LEN Men’s Under 19 European Water Polo Championships, which will be held in Manchester from 2-5 April.

Dusseldorf and Newton Abbot player Tom Manley will captain the side, with 12 English clubs represented in the squad.

Head coach Dean Walker will be supported by assistant coach Kevin Swainson and team manager Martin Atkinson.

Walker said: “After quite an intensive 12 months of training camps and trips, we have selected the squad to represent Great Britain in the upcoming U19 LEN qualifiers.

“I congratulate them and thank every player that has trialled along the way.

“Without everyone trialling and pushing the best out of every player, we wouldn’t be in such a positive position.

“We will now prepare to travel and compete in the Novaky Cup at the end of March against some of the top U19 teams in Europe in the build-up to hosting the LEN qualifiers in April.”

Making strides in Serbia

The announcement followed a successful training camp in Serbia, which provided a unique experience for the young water polo players.

Fourteen members from the initial squad of 17 travelled for the camp, testing their skills against one of the world’s most famous water polo teams – Red Star Belgrade.

The British players also received coaching tips from multiple Olympic medallist Nikola Radjen and Serbia head coach Dejan Savic.