Water Polo U15 National Age Group Championships: Penguin, Manchester, Watford and Exeter set for Sunday medal push

The opening day of the GoCardless Swim England Water Polo U15 National Age Group Championships brought a burst of excitement to Manchester Aquatics Centre, with Penguin, Manchester, Watford and Exeter emerging as the four teams in the hunt for Sunday’s medals.

Penguin looking for the double

Reigning champions Penguin wasted no time signaling their intent. A sharp, disciplined opening performance against Cheltenham set the tone for their remaining group stage matches.

After their wins over Radcliffe (10-5) and Worthing (8-5), they will head into the knockout stages looking to win the Championship for a second consecutive time.

Worthing, despite missing out on the medal play-offs after their defeat to Penguin, can take plenty of confidence from their opening-day performances.

They’ve shown a clear step forward from last year’s 11th-place finish, and now head into the fifth–eighth classification matches with real momentum and a strong chance to post one of their best results in years.

Manchester impress on home water

On home soil, Manchester put in one of the day’s most convincing overall displays and will be joining Penguin in the title fight.

Their opener – a 17–3 win over Colchester featuring nine different goal scorers – showed both depth and confidence, giving the team the necessary confidence for tomorrow.

Their follow-up against Sedgefield only strengthened the sense that Manchester are trying to reclaim their title from 2023 and their final group stage win over North London (18-2) sealed the Group B win.

Watford make a strong statement

Watford enjoyed a powerful opening day, picking up convincing wins and showing plenty of firepower across the squad. Their 10–3 victory over Newton Abbot set the tone early, and they followed it up with a commanding 15–1 win over Barnet, spreading the goals well across the team.

Their final and deciding match this Saturday was against last year’s bronze medalists Caledonia. Despite the Scottish side being in top form, after winning 25–0 over Barnet, Watford dominated their clash and secured the Group C top spot with a 13-4 win.

After placing seventh last year, the team will fight it out for the medals this year.

Exeter clinch Group D

Exeter secured the final medal-playoff place with a strong finish to the day, backing up their earlier shootout win over Croydon Amphibians by defeating Lewisham in their final group match.

The result sealed top spot in Group D and confirmed Exeter as the fourth team moving into Sunday’s medal race, after placing sixth in 2024. Confident, disciplined and improving across the session, they head into the knockouts with real momentum.

Beyond the medal contenders, plenty of teams showed promise throughout the day. Radcliffe, Cheltenham, North London, Sedgefield, Barnet, Croydon Amphibians, Sheffield and others contributed to a competitive and energetic opening round, setting up an exciting slate of fixtures for Sunday.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow marks the start of the play-offs, classification fixtures and the medal track, beginning bright and early at 9am. Whilst West London Penguin, Manchester, Caledonia and Exeter will battle it out for medals, other teams will aim for the highest positions possible.

You can follow every result on the live scoreboard, or head to Manchester Aquatics Centre to experience the energy, noise and intensity firsthand as the chase for the U15 Open national crown begins.