Orange Water Dragons ready to make a splash as state carnival returns

The Water Polo NSW Under 12s Festival will be hosted at the Orange Aquatic Centre from Friday, with teams coming from around NSW and the ACT.

The event, which will start from 2pm, has attracted 34 teams across three divisions - boys, girls and mixed.

Orange will boast three teams in the mixed division with two from Orange Water Dragons as well as Kinross entering a side for the first time.

Water Polo NSW CEO Alex Godbold said this junior carnival was an important one for the sport's young players.

"It's great to be back in Orange for what is the pinnacle of our under 12s events season," Godbold said.

"This is an opportunity for players, coaches and referees from both regional and metropolitan areas of NSW to grow and develop in a fun and inclusive environment, with the focus on participation rather than winning."

Orange Water Polo president, Sarah Sokol, said this festival was a highlight of the season for the junior players.

"This is a wonderful carnival for our junior players to test themselves against people from outside our competition," Sokol said.

"It's exciting to see them grow in confidence and improve their skills over the three days. They really thrive in this challenge."

For many of the Kinross players, this will be their first time in a water polo carnival and Master in Charge of Water Polo Kate Cutcliffe is looking forward to the juniors developing a love of the game.

"This is about increasing awareness around the game. A lot of our students have only played because they've had siblings play," Cutcliffe said.

"We have quite a strong reputation as a swimming club and we're trying to feed some of those players into water polo. This team will be based on students who have made it to the next level in swimming, so it's their first time playing water polo for a lot of them."

The festival is also an opportunity for developing referees and coaches to be mentored and hone their skills.

Orange and Kinross will both have young referees blowing their whistles over the three days, under the guidance of senior mentors.

Sokol said it was hoped this carnival would have a positive impact on the sport in Orange.

"This is a great opportunity to grow the culture of water polo in Orange, not just for players, but also for referees and coaches and technical officials," Sokol said.

There will be 117 games played over the three days, with the event expected to finish at about 2pm on Sunday.

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