PenguINspiration Archives - West London Penguin

Penguin triumph in shoot-out drama

11 February 202511 February 2025
PenguINspiration, Water Polo

Reunion at the BWLP Anniversary

30 August 202230 August 2022
Penguin 100 Centenary, PenguINspiration, Water Polo

9 July 2022.

The sun was shining on Parliament Hill Lido for the British Water Polo League’s anniversary celebrations, and what a fantastic setting to bring together over 400 masters players, their families and friends from some of the League’s founding clubs.

The event, which marked 60 years of the men’s national league water polo and 35 years of the women’s competition, saw over-40s teammates and old rivals playing in games across the day.

Men on the poolside

For the Penguin men (we didn’t have women’s team participating) it was a truly memorable reunion, bringing back all the camaraderie and banter from when they were playing together regularly. And it was lovely to see so many supporters there from across the Club. There was a real sense of the Penguin family.

As an added bonus we won the men’s tournament!

The day included two showpiece matches from the current GB men’s squad – featuring our own James Salt – versus the GB 2012 Olympic team, and the current GB girls.

Water polo player in the pool — James Salt

Thank you to all the BWPL organisers, including Penguin Steve Baker, who did such a great job in planning and running the day.

Penguin players reunited at the BWPL Anniversary celebration

Image 1 of 23

With thanks to Trevor Hyde/BWPL for a number of the photos.

If you’d like to get your hands on some of the Penguin 100 kit so beautifully modelled by our masters players, take a look here.

PS: Jerome up to his old tricks

Man photobombing photo of water polo team on the poolside.

Penguin 100 Stories: My water polo career by Karine Meadley

5 October 2021
Penguin 100 Centenary, Penguin members, PenguINspiration, Team GB, Water Polo

Prior to moving to London to study physiotherapy in 1994, my sporting focus had always been basketball and a bit of swimming to mix things up. Well, except for summer holidays when I was lucky enough to find a holiday resort with ‘water polo’ or ‘water basketball’ on offer – I felt like I was in my element.

The University of London Union was where I tried water polo proper for the first time. I remember it well, especially the horrified facial expression of coach Jerome Read when, having no idea of the rules, I grabbed the ball with two hands and curled myself around it. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before I had the knack of eggbeater leg kick, a better understanding of the rules, and I was invited to join the Penguin Club.

I played with Penguin for just over ten years. It was a time that helped me grow as a person, learn life skills (and lessons), and make some incredible friendships with people from all over the world, many of whom I consider close friends even now, 16 years later. Most importantly I learnt my capacity (or lack of) to consume alcoholic beverages.

Karine (centre) with Penguin teammates Charlie Parkinson (left) and Lis Holmes (right)

I was baffled when I was elected to be captain of the Penguin women’s water polo team in 1998 but figured if someone else thought I could do it, then I would give it a go. For four years I rallied the troops for games, led discussions on who was to be the next coach, delegated a lot, and introduced George I – the inflatable penguin and women’s team mascot. I was proud to be part of a team of strong women who were committed to not only having fun whilst keeping fit, but also to becoming integral to running the Club, particularly with the likes of Helen Nicholson, Manda Hackett, Sally Woolhouse-Read and Charlie Parkinson.

From 2001 I joined the Great Britain Water Polo Squad. The extra water polo commitments, Penguins and my physio career juggle eventually became too much, and I was happy to hand over the captaincy to Fiona Greer, who has gone on to do so much more for the Club than just lead a team of women.

Karine playing water polo for team GB

In late 2004 , after having had the opportunity to play at various European and World Championships, I decided I should probably try getting my life back and focusing on my physio career.

In January 2005 I played my last game for Penguin and enjoyed a legendary send off party (did I ever say thank you for that Charlie and team?) and set off to make the most of sleeping on ex-Penguin players’ couches in New Zealand and Australia, before settling in Brisbane to do some post-grad study in sports physio.

My contact with water polo became less, but there was always a Penguin linked to it, and being physio for the British team at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, with Jerome Read as part of the coaching team once again, felt like an appropriate ending to my career in water polo.

16 years on and living in South Australia, I still have close friends some of whom live just down the road, who are ex-Penguins, or know someone who was a Penguin. Lets face it, Penguins are awesome, and awesome people know awesome people…

This article is part of our Penguin 100 Stories, a series from Penguins past and present, recording what being a member of our Club means to them as we celebrate the Club’s centenary.

Ron Turner Memorial Trophy presentations

5 October 2021
Award, PenguINspiration, Water Polo

It’s been along wait, but now that COVID restrictions have eased, we’ve been able to make our Ron Turner Memorial Trophy presentations for 2020 winners.

Winner – Elliot McHugh

Here’s the previous winner, Toby Roberts (left), handing the unique Ron Turner Memorial Trophy to the 2020 winner, Elliot McHugh (right), at a Latymer training session.

Elliott with Trophy and Toby Roberts

Receiving the award Elliot said, ‘It’s an honour to be presented with the Ron Turner Memorial Trophy. Despite a difficult year, I enjoyed supporting the development of Penguin’s younger players. I look forward to seeing the Club succeed in the coming years, particularly with younger juniors coming through and the hard work of our coaches.’

Alongside the main Trophy, Elliot received a glass memento to keep.

Read Elliot’s story about his time with Penguin.

Highly Commended – Olly Castell

Olly Castell was awarded Highly Commended for the 2020 award, and received his certificate from coach Shaun Hill at a Hillingdon training session.

Olly holding his Highly Commended certificate with coach Shaun

Read Olly’s story about his time with Penguin.

Ron’s widow, Gill, who was unable to present the awards this year, said, ‘Ron would have been so proud of these young men.’

Frankie Snell – Penguin and the London 2012 Olympics

23 July 202122 September 2021
Frankie's Blog, Olympics, Penguin 100 Centenary, Penguin members, PenguINspiration, Team GB, Water Polo

As the belated 2020 Olympics get underway in Toyko, one of Penguin’s Olympians, Frankie Snell, looks back at her time with the Club and with the Team GB women’s water polo squad at London 2012.

I can remember my very first Penguin water polo training session. Tt was a cold autumnal evening in 2007 and I was lost in the maize of tunnels you had to conquer before finding the pool in the basement of the Shell Centre. I was just 20 years old and had recently arrived in London from New Zealand.

It was an easy decision to join the Penguin club,. A few older NZ players were already members so I was looking forward to seeing familiar faces when I nervously turned up to that first session. I had nothing to be concerned about though. Right from the start with Shakey and the girls, I felt the strong sense of family and community within the Club.

Playing in the London 20212 Olympics

That feeling carried with me over the following six years playing not just for Penguin, but professionally for clubs in France and Spain, and at the London 2012 Olympic Games with Team GB. I was born and grew up in NZ with a kiwi dad and English mother, hence having eligibility to compete for both nations.

I was the youngest in the Penguin team when I joined. I had a lot to learn from the older more experienced players and not just in the pool! They instantly took me under their wing and looked out for me throughout my time playing in Europe. This is my greatest memory and appreciation of being part of the Penguin Club, the lifelong friends I’ve made. We’re from all over the world, a lot of us now living back in our birth countries, but we’re still close and keep in touch from afar.

In action

I must admit the friendships were bonded not just in the pool, but also in the pub. Our weekends away for national league games were always work hard, play hard. We would battle it out in the pool during the day and then enjoy the local night life until the wee hours before being back in the pool first thing the next morning.

I have very fond memories of playing for Penguins at the LEN Trophy tournaments round Europe. We weren’t quite up to the standard of the fully professional club teams we were playing against, but we always fought hard, had the biggest smiles on our faces and definitely had the most fun!

At a LEN Championships match with the Penguin women’s team

I played for Penguins for a couple of years before a season for ASPTT Nancy in France. From France I moved up to Manchester in 2009 to join the Team GB squad in preparation for London 2012, on moving up there I made sure my home club stayed as Penguins.

Competing at the Olympic Games was obviously a dream come true for me, a truly unforgettable, totally amazing experience, but it was also the hardest, most disappointing time in my life.

We went into the Olympics as massive underdogs, we weren’t expected to medal but within our team we had full belief that we could, and would!

Team photo

In the weeks leading up to the Olympics we’d drawn with top countries Russia and Spain (the eventual silver medalists) so we knew within our squad that we could do it. That’s why when the final whistle blew on our quarter final match and we’d lost against Spain by one goal in the last minute of the match, it was so utterly disappointing and heart breaking. To have your dream of medaling at an Olympics – everything you’ve worked towards for years – squashed in an instant by one blow on a whistle.

Penguin team mates supporting from the poolside

We went to hell and back throughout our training in Manchester, pushed to our absolute limit physically and mentally so words can’t describe how broken we all felt. I still struggle now actually, almost 10 years later, when I think about how different everything would have been if we’d won that one match, if I’d made that one block or scored that one shot. All our games are up on Youtube but I haven’t yet been able to watch them back.

The whole Olympic experience was an extreme rollercoaster ride of highs and lows. We lost four out of our six games by one goal… one goal…

It was so hard to deal with but on the flip side, I had the most incredible experience. Being part of the home nation Team GB with all of the support behind us was the best feeling. The athlete village was amazing, I could’ve lived there forever (all the rumours you’ve heard about the village are true!).

Moving into our accommodation in the Olympic Village

The opening and closing ceremonies were so much fun and real ‘dream come true’ moments.

Me, Chloe Wilcox and Rosie Morris (my team mates and house mates for three years in Manchester) at the London 2012 closing ceremony

We went to Buckingham Palace and met the Queen. The countless parties after the event and the athlete parade through the streets of London were all some of the best times of my life.

It was a true honour for me to represent the Penguin Club at the Olympic Games. The support I felt by the whole Penguin family not only during the actual tournament but in the years before during the grueling preparation was immense. Being a part of the Penguin family is a very special part of my water polo journey.

Penguin teammates arriving at one
of our matches

I’m now very happily living back in NZ with my partner Rich Chambers, also a fellow proud NZ-Penguin water polo player, and our 1 year-old daughter Cleo.

We would absolutely love to be at the Penguin 100 Anniversary Dinner next year but this is unfortunately looking unlikely. I can remember dancing the night away at the 90th Anniversary Dinner ten years ago so I hope this next celebration is just as spectacular!

Use the tag at the top of this post to read the brilliant blog that Frankie wrote in 2012 documenting her journey to the London Olympics.

This article is part of our Penguin 100 Stories, a series of stories from Penguins past and present, recording what being a member of our Club means to them as we celebrate the Club’s centenary.