Come try canoe polo in Geelong

THE Geelong Canoe Club is encouraging the community to learn a sport gaining plenty of traction across the country.

The local sporting organisation will be running a come and try canoe polo day this Sunday, 22 February on the Barwon River.

Canoe polo is played by two teams of five players on a rectangular playing pitch that can be in open water or in a swimming pool.

Matches are played over two halves of 10 minutes with the aim to score into a goal which is suspended above the water at each end of the pitch.

The ball in canoe polo is the same that is used in water polo and can be controlled by hand or by paddle.

The Geelong Canoe Club is currently the only club in the area participating in the sport and have members from outside the City of Greater Geelong.

Group coordinator Andrew Butler said the game is highly entertaining, energetic and fun.

“It’s pretty full on, you can have all kayaks jammed competing for the ball, hence why we’ve got helmets on and boats with rubber on the front.

“It’s been slow to get people into the sport here, but we really want to get more on board.”

Geelong Canoe Club member Arnie Shanahan said there was so much to like about the sport.

“I’ve been playing for about two years now. I used to play water polo, and I’m now combining two of my favourite things in paddling and water polo.

“It’s a great social sport, and there’s a really great community around it. I’ve particularly loved heading up to Melbourne to play, too.”

The come and try session on 22 February will run from 9am to noon and is free to attend.

The club also run regular training sessions for canoe polo on Fridays at 5pm at the Geelong Canoe Club.

For more details, head to the Geelong Canoe Club Facebook page.