THE Geelong Canoe Club is encouraging the community to learn a sport gaining plenty of traction across the country.<\/p>\n
The local sporting organisation will be running a come and try canoe polo day this Sunday, 22 February on the Barwon River.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The ball in canoe polo is the same that is used in water polo and can be controlled by hand or by paddle.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Group coordinator Andrew Butler said the game is highly entertaining, energetic and fun.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“It’s been slow to get people into the sport here, but we really want to get more on board.”<\/p>\n
Geelong Canoe Club member Arnie Shanahan said there was so much to like about the sport.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
The come and try session on 22 February will run from 9am to noon and is free to attend.<\/p>\n
The club also run regular training sessions for canoe polo on Fridays at 5pm at the Geelong Canoe Club.<\/p>\n
For more details, head to the Geelong Canoe Club Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n