Water Polo – West London Penguin

Hillingdon Penguin end of year celebration and awards

8 January 202311 January 2023
Water Polo

It’s been a busy few months at the Hillingdon junior branch of Penguin and before the festive break, all the coaches, members, volunteers, supporters and parents got together to celebrate Christmas and present a number of awards.

The awards recognise players who are new and improved and the evening also gave the opportunity to say thank you to some of those whose work behind the scenes is vital to the running of the section.

Shaun presented awards to the older players that he coaches:
Most Improved Player – Aryan
Best Newcomer – Lucas
Coach’s Player – Will
Girls’ Award Cup – Vicky
Under-15s Shield – Dominic

Water polo coach and a child wearing a medal — Lucas received the Best Newcomer medal from coach Shaun

Water polo coach and a child holding a trophy — Will with the Coach’s Award trophy presented by coach Shaun

In the Under-14s group, coached by Mickey, awards were presented to:
Coach’s Player – Lily
Most Valuable Player – Anton

In the Under-12s group, coached by Adam, awards were presented to:
Best Newcomer – Evan
Most Improved Player – Avi
Jack Petchey Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award – Charlotte

Water polo coach and a young player holding a certificate — Charlotte with her Jack Petchey Award presented by coach Adam

The event also gave players and parents the chance to say a huge thank you to Sue Seagroatt for her tireless work behind the scenes over the past eight years, managing and helping to drive the section forward. Sue is taking a well earned rest and everyone connected with Hillingdon Penguin will miss her greatly. Thank you, Sue.

Four people, one holding a card and a bouquet of flowers — Sue with thank you gifts presented by the Hillingdon Penguin coaches Mickey, Shaun and Adam

We also have amazing parents and a big thank you for all your time and energy that make it possible for your children to train and compete.

A huge thank you to Gisela for organising the Christmas party and to everyone who has supported the team in various roles over the past few months. We couldn’t do it without you and all the other coaches, volunteers, supporters and parents.

Cake decorated with fondant penguins and icing writing saying Happy Christmas Hillingdon Water Polo Penguins — Seasons greetings

We are grateful to the Jack Petchey Foundation for their continuing support and in allowing us to make these awards which are an excellent way of encouraging the players to progress and improve.

Find out more about our water polo sessions for children at Hillingdon Penguin and Latymer Penguin.

RIP John Martin-Dye, 1940-2022

31 December 20224 January 2023
History, Penguin members, Water Polo

We are sad to say goodbye to John Martin-Dye who died today.

John joined Penguin in 1948 when he was eight, and he grew to be a top swimmer and water polo player who stayed with the Club throughout his life, although also played for Watford in later years.

As a swimmer John was a double Olympian. As a water polo player he represented Great Britain internationally and was part of the Penguin team that won the British Championships in 1965.

Water polo team — 1950s Penguin Water Polo Second Team probably mid to late 50s
Left to right
Back row: Ken Rogers, **John Martin-Dye**, Ted (Curly) Gerald, Terry Bushell.
Front row: Terry Fray, Lewis Bloomfield, Bobby Wollaston.
With the London Water Polo League Referees Cup, the Middlesex County Water Polo League shield and an unknown trophy.

John’s son, Graham, says, ‘John was an amazing father! His ethic in life was inspirational. He always worked hard to achieve anything, and never gave up. He lived life and travelled the world. He was always there for me and supported me in anything I wanted to do. He gave so much of this time back to sport and the community.’

Read more about John in the blog post written by Graham, last year.

Our thoughts are with John’s wife Delia, Graham and all the family.

RIP John.

John and Graham Martin-Dye in their dress suits at a Penguin Dinner — John with his son Graham at a Penguin Dinner.

Hillingdon Penguin U12s get underway in the LWPL Winter Championships

9 December 2022
Water Polo

Hillingdon Penguin Under-12s travelled to Whitgift School last week for the opening round of the London Water Polo League Winter Championships.

With a number of new faces in the squad, everyone put in a huge effort across their five matches.

Children with their water polo coach in a pre-match team building chat — Hillingdon Penguin U12s: Eira, Charlotte, Charlie, Tuline, Amira, Zach, Julia, Aronas and Eleanor, with coach Shaun Hill.

The day began with two defeats for the Hillingdon Penguin team as they came up first against their club teammates Latymer Penguin, and second against Worthing, although the scoreline didn’t reflect how close these games were.

Then it was Lewisham and despite holding the lead going into the closing minutes, it was the south London side who scored two late goals to win the match 3-2.

Beckenham were the next opponents. In a hard-fought game it was Hillingdon Penguin who ran out 3-2 winners with a battling display.

The final game saw a defeat by Croydon, but the Hillingdon Penguin squad went away with their heads held high knowing the final results didn’t reflect their efforts and a great team performance.

Thank you to all the coaches, players, volunteers and parents who made the tournament possible.

Find out more about our water polo sessions for children at Hillingdon Penguin and Latymer Penguin.

Under-12s Development Tournament

22 October 202222 October 2022
Water Polo

The new look under-12 team from our junior water polo section in Hillingdon got their first taste of tournament play on Sunday 9 October at Whitgift School in Croydon.

Water polo players on the poolside wearing their tournament medals

Our squad was one of three teams to take part in a development tournament organised by London Swimming with the aim of giving young players experience and practice as a team.

Water polo players at the end of the polo listening to instructions from their coach on the poolside

With a number of new faces in the squad, it was a great opportunity to get to know each other a bit more and build team spirit and ahead of the London League Winter Championships starting in December.

water polo player smiling in anticipation of their first ever water polo match

The squad played several games against Croydon and Lewisham. They grew in confidence as the tournament went on, quickly learning about match play and gaining lots of experience from the afternoon.

The players were: Anaiya, Avi, Charlie, Charlotte, Eira Grant, Eleanor, Tuline, Zachariah.

water polo player holding a small trophy with their coach by their side — Congratulations to Tuline who was named as Hillingdon Penguin’s MVP by the team’s coach Adam Maidment.

Thank you to Coach Adam for his patience and hard work developing these players, to Mike and Lynsey for looking after the team and to all the parents for their support.

We are grateful as always to London Swimming for providing this brilliant opportunity, Chris Martin for organising the tournament and Ultan Brennan for being a very welcoming and efficient event organiser on the day.

Match report: Hillingdon Penguin Under 13s at the London Water Polo League Summer Championships

18 September 202225 September 2022
London League, Water Polo

It’s been a summer of success for the Hillingdon Penguin U13s after finishing as runners-up in Division 1 of the LWPL Summer Champs.

Sunday 11 September 2022 saw the final round of fixtures for the squad who travelled to Whitgift School in Croydon in fine form and cheered on by parents, coaches and supporters.

Young water polo players in a team photo — Under 13 team

Going into the weekend, the U13s were two points clear of nearest rivals Latymer Penguin – the team from our Club’s other junior water polo section – after a series of strong performances in the previous three rounds of the competition.

Kingston were the first opponents of the day for the Hillingdon Penguins who held a 3-1 lead at half time. But the Surrey side fought back to take a 4-3 lead before Hillingdon Penguin struck once again to level the scores going into the final few minutes of play. In the end it was Kingston who found the winner with only a few seconds left on the clock, taking the match 5-4.

The second Hillingdon Penguin game of the day saw the U13s face Northampton, and they put in a very strong first half performance to lead 3-0 at the interval. Two further goals after the break saw them win the game 5-0.

Water polo match — Hillingdon Penguin in action

Lewisham were the next opponents and a fiercely fought opening half saw the teams head into the break level at 1-1. But Hillingdon Penguin gave a confident second half display that brought three quick goals and a 4-1 win to set up a clash with Latymer Penguin.

Latymer took control of the game as early as the opening minute and just after the break, held a 4-0 lead. However Hillingdon kept fighting and pulled back two quick goals. Further goals late in the game saw Latymer claim a 6-2 victory and with it the Championship title. Hillingdon made it a Penguin double, finishing as runners up.

With a number of Hillingdon Penguin players now making the step up to U14s this was the last tournament in which many of the team were playing together, but the development of the players over the course of the past year has been clear for all to see. Well done all.

Hillingdon Penguin U13 squad: Aronas Alisauskas, Anaiya Athwal, Tuline Dagher, Zain Garnie, Eira Grant, Charlotte Hartwell, Amira Kabbou, Zayd Khan, Jacob Lillie, Eleanor McGeady, Ioanna Mouratidi, Dominic O’Neill Cuadros, Charlie Symons.

Two boys holding the most valuable player cup with their coach — Zain and Zayd recognised as Hillingdon Penguin’s Most Valuable Players by their coach Adam.

Report by Mike Hartwell.

Find out more about playing junior water polo with West London Penguin.