Big turn out for State Championships

Rees Quilford and Bradley Peters contest the puck at the 2018 Victorian State Championships. [Photo: Matt Hoskins]
More than sixty competitors and spectators from across the state attended the 2018 Victorian State Championships held on Saturday 10 November at the Warragul Leisure Centre. Players from Wonthaggi, Geelong and Melbourne based clubs were joined by a number of  visiting players from interstate for a full day of high intensity underwater hockey.

A slightly amended format was adopted for this year’s competition with teams consisting of a potluck combination of adults and juniors from the different clubs. The approach resulted in a highly competitive tournament in which developing players benefited from playing alongside those with more experience.

A four team round robin, in which teams played one another twice, was followed by a final featuring the the top two ranked teams. This saw the Seahorses, captained by Kevin Chisholm, face off against a Sea Spiders team captained by Todd Canavan, it proved to be a somewhat one sided affair with the Seahorses prevailing 5-0.

VUHC President, Kevin Chisholm, lauded the competition as a great success, “Players from across Victoria as well as a number of visitors from South Australia and Queensland enjoyed a fantastic day high-level competition. It was particularly pleasing to have so many junior players in attendance.”

“The recently build outdoor 50m pool at the  Warragul Leisure Centre is a fantastic venue for underwater hockey, we always get a great turn out for competitions here, they run a very good facility here,” he said.

Results 

Round Robin
(Played | Win | Loss | Draw | Goals For)

  1. Seahorses: 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22
  2. Sea Spiders: 4 | 2 | 0 | 12
  3. Aqua Hares: 2 | 3 | 1 | 13
  4. Vic Women: 0 | 5 | 1 | 3

Final
Seahorses (5) def Sea Spiders (0)

Most Valuable Players

  • Junior Female MVP: Neve Fox (Cairns Crays Underwater Hockey)
  • Junior Female MVP: Tiana Krilcic (Geelong Underwater Hockey Club)
  • Junior U19 Male MVP: Bradley Peters (Wonthaggi Underwater Hockey Club)
  • Junior U15 Male MVP: Dylan Shone
  • Adult MVP: Rees Quilford (Melbourne Underwater Hockey Club)

Photos

The 2018 State Championship winning team. [Photo: Megan Hopkins]
State Championships MVPs (L to R): Rees Quilford, Tiana Krilcic, Dylan Shone, Neve Fox, Bradley Peters (absent) [Photo Megan Hopkins]

Junior Female MVP: Neve Fox
Junior Female MVP: Tiana Krilcic
Junior U15 Male MVP: Dylan Shone

More action from the 2018 Victorian Underwater Hockey State Championships [Photo: Matt Hoskins]
More action from the 2018 Victorian Underwater Hockey State Championships [Photo: Matt Hoskins]