Update I Aussie Stingers European Tour

Published Wed 26 Feb 2020

Wednesday 26 February

The changing proposition of the CoVid19 (coronavirus) has led Water Polo Australia today to make further changes to the Australian Women’s Water Polo team European training camp with the squad now to return home to Australia from Dubai.

The Aussie Stingers will return to Australia once travel arrangements from Dubai can be finalised and will head to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra to complete the training camp.

The squad was held in Dubai overnight after plans were altered to skip the Italy leg of the tour and travel straight on to Hungary.

But in consultation with Dr David Hughes, AIS Chief Medical Officer and AOC Medical Director for the Australian Olympic Committee, and WPA Chief Medical Officer Rachel Harris, the decision today is that the squad will now return to Australia.

Water Polo Australia Acting CEO, Richard McInnes, said that the latest decision was once again precautionary and in the interest of athlete welfare.

“We are taking necessary precautions to minimise disruption for our squad’s preparations 150 days out from the Olympic Games.

“The coronavirus (CoVid19) local transmission in Europe has increased significantly in the last few days and we want to not only minimise exposure but also minimise the risk of our squad being quarantined.

“The squad will return to Australia and relocate to Canberra for the remainder of the two training block. While a training camp in Europe would have provided us a good opportunity to train against opposition sides, the welfare of our players and staff is fundamental.

“We are confident this won’t impact our preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, as our squad will still have value time together at the AIS and we have international Tournaments and camps scheduled for the USA prior to the Olympics,” he said.

Tuesday 25 February

The Australian Women’s Water Polo team (Aussie Stingers) have amended their training plans for their European training camp, taking precautions in light of the rapidly changing situation with the coronavirus, particularly in Italy.

The squad was originally scheduled to be based a week in Italy and a week in Hungary with the respective national squads.

But with recent spread of the coronavirus to Italy along with the closure of many of the sporting and public arenas, prompted the squad to revise their plans. The Stingers’s Italian camp base was over 100kms from the site of infection in Italy, however WPA are concerned with the possibility of the team being quarantined, following their departure from Italy which would impact on team preparation.

The squad will now overnight in Dubai before travelling directly to Hungary a week ahead of schedule where they will train with the Canadian and Hungarian teams. Hungary currently has no reported cases of the Coronavirus and there is no change to the DFAT travel warning for Hungary.

Water Polo Australia Acting CEO, Richard McInnes, said the precautions that have been taken are in consultation with our medical staff, the players and coaching staff along with the Australian Institute of Sport.

“We are taking necessary precautions to minimise disruption for our squad’s preparations 150 days out from the Olympic Games, however we are also very conscious of the health and well being of our players and staff.

“While the risk of contracting the coronavirus where the squad was due to train in Italy was considered low, the speed with which the situation is changing across multiple countries, we wanted to minimise the risk of our squad being quarantined,” he said.

McInnes said despite the change in schedule, he believes this will not impact overall the Aussie Stingers preparations in the build up to Tokyo 2020.

“While every camp is important as it gives our squad the opportunity to train and play together, we don’t believe this minor change will impact the overall preparations ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games,” he said.

Monday 24 February

Preparations continue to intensify for the Aussie Stingers with the squad for the European training tour announced today.

The squad has once again narrowed as the build up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games heats up, with the squad of 15 confirmed for the next training camp.

The two week camp will see the Aussie Stingers train with the Italian and Hungarian national sides before they return to their Clubs for the final rounds of the OVO Australian Waterpolo League.