Women's A 06/07

30th June & 1st July '07

ASA cup, Manchester

On Saturday, Sheffield played their semi final of the ASA Championships against Penguin. It ended with a convincing win over Penguin.

Sunday's game against Manchester was a different story. Manchester played a fast, strong game and took a good lead in the first quarter. Sheffield put in a gutsy performance and batted hard to bring back the score to within one goal. However, Manchester held on and eventually won the game 9-7.

Thanks to Linzi Gaywood & Pippa Jones for coaching the team.

And a fond farewell to Kirsty Wilde who announced her retirement from the women's A squad after the game on Sunday.

24th & 25th Feb '07

British Championships, Manchester

Saturday; with a few players injured the game against Manchester was going to be a tough one.

Sheffield had a good start and found themselves up, 5-1 scoring four unanswered goals in the second period. However, Manchester fought back and in the 3rd quarter they lifted their game and pulled the game back. The final quarter was closer, but Sheffield held it together and came through to win 9-7 at the final whistle.

Sunday, the final against Liverpool. Sheffield went into the competition as the top ranked side after winning the Women’s National League, the competition was tight and the results were never a formality.

Sheffield opened up the scoring early on and held that lead in the 1st quarter. Liverpool picked up their game and went ahead briefly, but Sheffield came back and were soon in front again. The 3rd & 4th quarter’s proved to be a good battle between the two sides. Sheffield at times seemed a little rushed, winning a number of corners at the Liverpool end, keeping their goal keeper busy in the 3rd quarter. Sheffield extended their lead to two goals in the fourth. Once again Sheffield battled through to become British Champions for the 3rd year running.

Well done to all involved and a big thank you to Paul for coaching this season.

Goal scorers; Laura; 4 Fran & Nes; 3 Lizzie, Carol, Larissa, Vic B & Sally; 1

6th & 7th Jan '07

Grantham

The final of the women's national league and it couldn't have been closer. If Sheffield were to keep the cup then they HAD to win both games against two team who had already beaten them this season.

Saturdays game against Manchester started off well for Sheffield, but Manchester fought back in the second quater. The third and fourth quater were Sheffields though and they pulled out a convincing win putting them closer to the chance of winning the cup.

Sunday and Liverpool were the team that Sheffield were up against. The game was low scoring but great to watch. Sheffield had a good start but Liverpool weren't going to give up without a fight, though Sheffield's defence proved to be too much for Liverpool and a return for one of Sheffield's injured players gave the team that little extra speed. The girls were up for the win and they go what they deserved.

Well done to everyone, Women’s National League winners for the 5th year in a row.

16th & 17th Dec

Newport & Gloucester

An interesting weekend with coaches going to the wrong venue then being given a red card later in the day and team member struggling to make it to Newport!

Sheffield were in good spirits and battled against Liverpool with the final decision putting a dampner on the final score.

The game in Newport started off a tad slow but by the third quater the team had picked things up and had a convincing win over Penguin.

25th Nov '06

Gloucester

The top 4 play at Gloucester for the second weekend in a row.

Sheffield had a poor start going down 1-5 in the first quater. The girl struggled on and pulled back a little, but Manchester claimed the game.

18th & 19th Nov '06

Gloucester

Sheffield play Penguin both days. The game on Saturday was a little too close for comfort, but the girls pulled through winning their game. The winning streak continued through onto Sunday with a more impressive win. Back to second in the table!

28 & 29th Oct '06

Grantham

Coaches having to referee due to lack of officails, what's that about? Missing injured team members, a new coach and new team members Sheffield seemed to take their time getting into their games this weekend and Liverpool took advantage of this in the first quater of their game. Sheffield fought back, but sadly there wasn't enough time (if only there was one more quarter the story could have been a different one). Sunday found a much improved team, getting back to the Sheffield we know. Keep it up girls.

SOUTH YORKSHIRE SPORT AND RE:PLAY SPORTS AWARDS 2006

Senior Team of the Year, sponsored by SportsPulse

City of Sheffield Ladies Water Polo team

This year the City of Sheffield Ladies Water Polo Team has won three National Titles making them Triple Champions for the second season running. They started the season back in October by winning Division One of the Women’s National League. This was a great start to the season without loss. The team also had 6 players in the top ten goal scorers for the league, with two players taking first and second place. Having won the league this qualified the team to play in the Amateur Swimming Association’s (ASA) British Championship.

Over one weekend in February the top four teams from the National League battled it out for the title of British Champions. Sheffield had a very successful weekend beating Liverpool 7 – 2 in the final. Again the team was unbeaten which resulted in them picking up their second title of the season, being named the British Champions of 2006. This Championship is key for the team as winning the championship gives the team the British place for the European Women’s Water Polo Cup, the equivalent of the European Cup in Football. The team will now be travelling to Hungary in December to play the first round of the European Competition.

Having won the British Championships in 2005 this saw them get the British place in the European Women’s Cup for the 2006 season. The first round of this event was held early in February. The girls therefore, travelled to Croatia where they faced teams from Greece, Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic. They came up against some very strong competition, such as the Greeks and Spanish. However, after four tough matches the girls came away from the competition in a very respectable third place, narrowly missing out from qualifying through to the next round.

The summer months of June and July saw the competition of the ASA Cup. Sheffield was given a bie in the first round and convincingly won their second round game by 22 goals. This got them through to the finals weekend in July were they faced Manchester in the semi final. Going into the weekend Sheffield were up against the odds having lost a number of key players due to injury. This was by no means ideal, having just one substitution available to them. However, the girls battled and work hard as a unit and ended up beating Manchester by 1 goal, with the final score being 8 - 7 which meant they later met Liverpool in the final the following day. The final saw Sheffield play the best water polo they had all season and won a very close match 5 – 4. The girls team work, commitment, determination and concentration saw them win their third and toughest title of the season.

As well as being the current top women’s water polo team in the country they can also boast a side full of current and past international players. Currently, the side has 4 senior international players who attend the international High Performance Centre in Manchester. These four players recently represented England at this years Commonwealth Games. The side can also boast Junior & Youth internationals.

This success could not have been achieved without the hard work and commitment that they all put into their sport. The girls spend 4 hours a week water polo training, which includes polo specific swimming, ball skills, shooting and tactics. They then spend at least 3 hours of swim training and in their own time land specific training. Regular commitment of the players to training is crucial to Sheffield’s success. However Sheffield believes their success is also due to a strong emphasis and philosophy on team play. No individual is greater than the team, the ability to play well as a unit and to pull together when players are missing definitely has given them the edge over other teams.

Having gone unbeaten throughout the domestic season and having taken three National titles for the second season running, I strongly believe the City of Sheffield Ladies Water Polo Team is deserved winners of Senior Team of the Year.

In summary the ladies successes include:

•Women’s National League winners: 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06

•ASA British Championships winners: 2005, 2006

•ASA Cup (Club Championships) winners: 1999, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006

•Double Champions 2003/04

•Triple Champions 2004/05, 2005/06

7th & 8th Oct '06

League division 1

With a new coach and some new players Saturday Oct' 7th saw our senior women "A" at the Oxford Road, Manchester Aquatics Centre...stepping up to defend the title yet again and winning all three games. Tho they did make me feel a little nervous in the first quater of their first game against Mancshster. Once again they held steady and came through the winning team.

27th August '06

Sheffield womens A team won the tournament once again in Hasselt, Belgium.

The B team almost got there but were pipped at the post.

July 11th '06

Sheffield won the 2006 National Championships (waterpolo’s version of the FA cup!) title without four of their most experienced players, two of whom are current Great Britain internationals. Star players Carol Mohan, a midfielder/winger, and national captain Fran Leighton, a dangerous centre-forward, are both missing through injury. Mohan (shoulder) and Leighton (knee) are both recovering from operations, while former GB goalkeeper Ruth Walters (broken arm) and Sally Rangecroft (holidays) were also absent for the weekend's tournament. Yet they still beat full strength teams who were able to rest players throughout the games with substitutions.

Sheffield set the ball running...or should that be flying...on Saturday by edging out Manchester in an epic 8-7 semi-final.

Long time rivals Liverpool must have thought that their time had come to defete the depleted Sheffield team and claim the title, but the Sheffield squad came through 5-4 victors.

Feb 27th '06

The senior women took control of the ASA deep water competition by showing how well they are placed in the current national rankings: beating Manchester 15 - 6 in the semi-finals on Saturday and defeating Liverpool 7 - 4 in Sundays final.

Jan 9th '06

Sheffields fourth successive national league title.

A momentous occasion for the Sheffield squad, in attaining the national premier slot by overcoming a tough challenge from the Liverpool side 8 - 4. Not without some controversy and despite having a depleted side through injury and unavailability.

The final weekend saw victory assured by dominating the London Penguin side 9 - 2 in their last encounter.

Five of the side will be on their way to New Zealand this week, ultimately preparing for the Commonwealth games in Perth, Australia.

Dec 4th '05

The prestigious Sheffield Night of Honour awards was held in the International Hall at Ponds Forge I.S.C. A greater recognition is given to those throughout the city whose talents and endeavours rarely make it to the "BIG TIME" media. The women succeeded from a short list of five and this year the spotlight fell on the hard working heroines.