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Funding for European Championships crucial after EU Nations Cup Water Polo success for Cheltenham's Lily Ross
Cheltenham-based captain Lily Ross hopes England Under-18 Women’s Water Polo EU Nations victory will help with funding for next year’s European Championship in Malta.
The Under-18 side went undefeated in the Czech Republic as they stormed to a 16-9 win in the final against the hosts.
Before that they had come through some tough tests against Switzerland and Slovakia in the group, and a semi-final 13-8 win versus Ukraine.
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Ross scored one goal in the final win and now believes that her side have what it takes to kick on at the European Championships.
Sadly, the costs to cover going to such an event will not be funded, which means that it has to be self-funded.
“We’ve set up a GoFundMe account,” Ross said, speaking after the tournament.
“So, we’re hoping to get lots of sponsors, we’ve got big brands looking to bring in some money and also family, fans and people talking and we’ve got local radio stations, so it’s been great and last year with the 06 team we managed to raise money to cover the whole tournament, which was amazing, giving everyone an opportunity to play.
“I think we played really well as a team; we’ve just picked up in September, started training together and everything so it’s all quite new, but I’m really enjoying it, and I’m really excited for the summer, we’re all working towards the European Championships in Malta.”
England Under-18 Women’s coach Nick Hume also discussed how important it is to obtain the funding for the European Championships.
“It’s a decentralised programme,” Hume said. “So, they come from every part of England and some Scottish, Welsh girls as well in the squad, we have centralised training so there’s a venue that everyone travels to, funded, and we train every fourth or fifth weekend and as soon as we can get together and play tournaments we do.
“We’re heading towards the European Championships which are in Malta, so it’s going to cost the best part of £40,000, it’s all self-funded so the parents that are here supporting they have to fund it, we’re looking at ways to get sponsorship and try and advertise and try to build it and fund it so we can get there.”
The England side scored 80 goals in the Czech Republic and only conceded 39 on their way to glory.
Amélie Perkins, who has previously featured in the England Senior team and played at the Under-19 Women’s European Championships, top scored for England with 29 goals in only five matches.
The EU Nations Cup and the European Championships provide the England side to play teams from all over Europe.
Ross touched on what it’s like for her to travel around Europe representing England at a tournament and what it’s like to interact with players from different countries.
“It’s amazing,” Ross exclaimed. “It’s so lovely meeting loads of different girls of my age, but also from lots of different backgrounds, for me I study languages at college, so I love testing out some of my language skills, but really, it’s eye opening.
“I’m just from a small town in the south of England so it’s nice to meet different people and also in terms of our squad there’s girls from Manchester and Sheffield so it’s lovely training with all different people.”
If you would like to support the England U18 women’s team in their quest for funding, please click the link here for more information.
