Category: Water Polo

My dad, Bobby, joined Penguin in the 1950s as a junior. He started his aquatic career with Amateur SC who were based at the Prince of Wales swimming baths in Kentish Town. Dad soon became a regular with Penguin and his swimming background helped him become a workhorse of the team.

Dad was a loyal person and continued his association with Amateur for many years taking part in their annual relay race with the Northern Lights club which was then based at Hornsey Road baths. This annual race was in the Guinness book of records as the oldest annual swimming event in the world.

At a time when Penguin regularly put out four teams in the local water polo leagues, Dad progressed through the ranks to the first team.

In 1961 Dad married my Mum, Cathy, with Penguin teammate Lew Bloomfield as his best man. Then two years later I arrived.

Most people of a certain age can remember where they were when England won the World Cup. In 1966 I was on my very first Penguin tour to Malta at the age of three where I was in safe hands with Shakey helping out on toddler watch!

Dad continued to play first team polo and my early memories were as a toddler either sitting in the footbaths of Lime Grove, Nine Elms and places like Ironmonger Row whilst Dad was playing, or swimming behind the goal at the shallow end dodging the wayward shots.

Training sessions usually ended with me being kept quiet with a Coke and a bag of crisps while Dad and his fellow Penguins frequented the famous Shepherds Bush Cricket Club on the way home. Years later Dad would recount how Les Pickles once gave him a lift home from the Cricket Club after a lengthier than usual night. When Dad told Les to go straight ahead at the next roundabout, Les asked, “Which roundabout?”. Dad’s reply: “The one you are on!”. Members such as Les Pickles, Jack Dengel, Ron Turner and Bill Usher were always there in the background helping the Club run smoothly.

Dad would talk about the epic games against Cheltenham or the games in the bleak outdoor pool in Birkenhead, and how local rivalries were cemented against Sutton & Cheam.

Penguin has always been a great family with great relationships with many pool managers. Uxbridge Open Air Pool used to be a regular venue on a Sunday afternoon; once the public left our Penguin players and their other halves would help tidy up, then use the facility until it got dark. This approach was repeated with Pete Kerslake at Clissold Road and Dave Webzell at Potters Bar, allowing us to benefit from a whole host of extra training time.

Following in Dad’s footsteps I started my aquatics career as a swimmer and, with my sister Jayne and brother Alan also swimming, as a family we spent most of our early lives travelling between pools. Even with the three of us children training seven days a week, Dad still continued to not only play in the local water polo leagues but he also became a grade one referee travelling the country.

Having spent my younger years swimming and diving, I decided to take up water polo at around the age of 14. Dad then got even more involved. He started running the Penguin junior team from which many became regulars in the Penguin first team – Paul and Dave Bryan, Ian Spooner, Peter Falcini and Mark Harmon to name but a few.

Being a lefty put me in good stead for my career. I started in the fourth team playing alongside Dad and a number of other Penguin legends, including Ron Turner and John Lake. I look back on fondly on these memories and the experience I gained was invaluable.

I progressed through the Penguin teams as well as representing Middlesex and the Southern Counties at all age groups and playing for both the England and the GB junior side.

Dad continued his involvement with the Club, stepping in to coach the first team as a when needed as well as serving for many years on the Middlesex Water Polo Committee.

Perhaps one of Dad’s proudest moments was when, as President at a Penguin Dinner, he took wine with the Jayne, Alan and I as we had all represented GB internationally in water polo and synchronised swimming. In fact between the three of us we had national medals in swimming, water-polo, synchro and diving.

There is obviously something in the Wollaston genes which ties us to the water as even now Alan continues to play water polo and Jayne and I coach swimming and synchro respectively.

Dad’s passion for the sport certainly was passed on. I have a whole host of fantastic memories and many that can’t be written down in full – what goes on tour stays on tour – involving trips to Malta, Naples, Belgium, Liverpool, Germany, Holland and Denmark with the likes of Ian Spooner, Robbie Arnold, Graham Forbes, Paul Whatley, Paul Howard, Gary Simonds, Robbie Arnold, Martin Blenkinsop, Paul Whatley Steve Baker, Ian Grimwood, Miguel Ortiz and of course Shakey. I even had my stag do as part of the St Niclaas Water Polo Tournament!

Being part of Penguin is more than being a Club member. In the latter stages of Mum and Dad’s illnesses the support that Paul and Jayne and I received from the Penguins was humbling, borne out by the numbers of Penguins past and present who came to both their funerals.

I am still playing and enjoy doing so. The other week I turned out for Enfield against Penguin and managed to get on the score sheet a few times in a convincing win – Grimbo will vouch for this! It is so good to still be able to catch up with many my former Penguin team mates from over the years when I see them at different games and tournaments.

Penguin is a rare and unique Club; it was Dad’s passion and something that he always held close to his heart. He was the proudest Dad ever while he watching Paul, Jayne and I compete. For me he was, and always will be, my hero who is sorely missed by many but never forgotten.

Alan Wollaston
Manibus Pedibusque

This post is part of our Penguin100 series of stories from Penguins past and present, sharing what being a member of the Club means to them as we celebrate our Centenary.

My journey with Penguin has been a rollercoaster spread over 25 years, through the highs of international competition to the lows of injuries and a lot of surgery. The constant through it all has been my amazing teammates and coaches, the biggest of these was John Lake (Shakey). Even at 80 years old he continued to inspire and motivate me, he helped prepare me for big competitions and was always there to support and pick me up when things were tough. His loss has been greatly felt not only by me personally but through the whole Club.

My water polo journey started after reading about the GB team on a British Airways flight. I was not from a swimming background; as a teenager I’d been a middle distance/cross country runner at Scottish national level but after spending time training in America I was suffering ongoing injuries. When starting at university in London in 1994 I was looking for a new challenge and went along to the freshers fair at UCLH where I met Karine Hales and signed up for the University water polo team.

Karine was so enthusiastic and welcomed me, even as a non-swimmer, with open arms. I had no idea what was involved and I emerged from my first session half-drowned and beaten up. For most first timers the initial session either makes or breaks you, and I was instantly hooked. The training was tough and perhaps it suited my ‘feisty Celtic blood’. Plus the team spirit was infectious.

After two years playing university water polo (and learning to swim!) I joined Penguin in 1996. At that team the time was in the second division of the national league. Training and matches were a step up, but I loved the challenge, and in truth I probably became a bit obsessed. Playing alongside Manda Hackett, Karine Hales, Charlie Parkinson, Pamela Campbell, Lis Holmes, Katie Collins and Sally Woolhouse – to name but a few – I made lifelong friends.

By early 2000 we were playing first division and challenging the top teams in the UK. We qualified for the European Cup and had a second team in the third division. I took over the captaincy from Karine and captained the Penguin women for around 15 years on and off. Looking back these really were golden years: Penguin was flying high.

I started training with the Scotland squad and was proud to captain Scotland from 2000 until 2006, competing with the team in the Commonwealth tournament in Perth, Australia in 2006. This was an amazing experience shared with fellow Penguins Karine and Jerome Reed from England and others from South African, and Singapore. We played and won the World Masters in 2004 in San Marino, Italy, what a great trip for polo the and off pitch celebrations!

After 2006 I continued to play domestic water polo with Penguin inbetween having kids and surgery. Then I returned to the international arena to play in the 2014 Commonwealth competition in Aberdeen, opposite another Penguin, Lis Holmes who was playing for Wales.

The noughties were a haze of training camps and international and domestic competitions. Looking back now water polo kept me out of trouble!

The Penguin team was motivated and keen, we were very social, and we pushed and inspired each other in the pool as we fought for team selection. We toured in the summer in Europe, often with the men’s team, enjoyed team nights out and attended the Penguin dinner dances. These really were great times, with some great polo and lots of outrageous ‘what goes on tour…’ fun outside the water!

To be President of a club like Penguin is such an honour, I am so grateful for the part the Club has played in my life. I feel lucky to still be able to play, especially after some major surgeries, although I must admit it’s certainly harder as I get older, and those three-game national league weekends are that bit harder to recover from, even though I am partly bionic.

I can’t imagine ever losing the will to get in the water with my teammates or the drive to fight to get the ball and stuff it in the back of the net; there really is no better feeling.

Thankfully, I have a supporting family. My water polo training and match schedules have often impacted on family holidays and events, but my family have been my best supporters, and they are excited to see the current Penguin team doing well.

Penguin has been through a lot in the last 100 years, and it is still going strong through two world wars, the great depression, recessions, lack of pool investment and most recently COVID-19. Other clubs have not been so fortunate, and the pandemic has sadly led to the demise of many swimming and water polo clubs.

Fortunately, I see Penguin gaining a new momentum, and again I feel excited and re-energised. In the senior water polo sections the coaching team and players are working hard and there is a hunger to get back to the heyday of high level competition. We all feel it and I’m excited to be part of it. Both the women’s and men’s teams fought hard in the first half of this national league season to reach the playoffs, and are now aiming for promotion.

It is great to be playing again, we all really missed the training, galas and national league competitions during the lockdowns over last two years. Despite the disruption, before Christmas and into the new year, Rachel Bull led the Emperors to a three game victory in the first weekend of the Championship 2 in Walsall, putting our statement of intent at the top of the table.

I’ve played with Rachel since she joined as a team junior at 15 years old, a position that was taken this year by Maddie Roberts who has scored an amazing 13 goals for Penguin so far this season. As an older more experienced player myself, it’s great to watch young players like Rachel grow in the Club and then become experienced role models for the next generation of players such as Maddie. And I have loved playing with them all.

The men will be captained by Albie Duffy as they restart their promotion campaign at Haberdashers on the 29th January, we are willing them on all the way.

The Penguin junior teams have also been playing amazingly, with recent success at the National Age Group Championships and national squad inclusions.

It feels like the momentum is with us. A really big thank you to all the coaches who give up their time and energy to the Club, we really couldn’t do it without you.

The masters swimmers are thriving, with record membership numbers and a great social side. While not big on pool-base competitions at present, the lure of open water events is stronger. A number have entered the annual Herne Bay Pier to Pier https://activelifeltd.co.uk/pier-to-pier-swim/swim, and it would be great to see lots of Penguins entering from all sections of the Club as part of our Penguin 100 celebrations.

I have met so many amazing people over the last 25 years, it feels like we share a special bond and memories that inspire lifelong friendships. So many of them are now spread across the world with their families or pursuing new adventures, but I regularly stalk them on Facebook. There are too many to name so I’m sorry if I didn’t mention you personally.

Equally there are just too many stories to reminisce, but that’s probably a good thing!

I really hope the Centenary Dinner in April allows us to meet up again and celebrate the great times and lasting friendships made through the Club. I certainly feel in need of a shindig with my Penguin besties.

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