A quick skim of an email had him thinking he was one of 50 finalists up for the national honour. In reality, he was one of three.

"(Water Polo Australia) got in touch and they wanted to do an interview with me," he said.

"It was like a movie audition."

It only got better from there, as two weeks later, he was announced as the winner.

"I don't know exactly how many people did, but it sounded like a few people put in letters to nominate me. It was very humbling in a way," he said.

But while the award left him feeling "honoured and surprised", he was quick to point to the work of others within the Orange water polo scene as reason for his win.

"I couldn't have done it without the help of Sarah Sokol and Michelle Cook. We've been a good little team," he said.

But Mr Pilossof's love-affair with the sport started long before he moved to Orange in 2014.

He was just 12 years old when he first took up water polo back in his native Zimbabwe.

He would continue to play until his late 20s, before giving it up, only for his love of the game to reignite two decades later following the move out to the Central West.

"My daughters were swimmers before we moved here. So we joined the swimming club pretty early on. One day, the girls were training and there were a few guys throwing the ball in the diving pool," Mr Pilossof said.

"I went along and asked if I could join. It turned out those guys were playing in the Bathurst competition, so I played there for about three years before it stopped."

He would then play a crucial role in starting up the Orange competition and helping grow the game over the next five years.

This hard work would result in the competition more than doubling in size, at a time when other regional sports are running on life support.

"The one thing I always say is I've hardly met a person who plays water polo that doesn't enjoy it," Mr Pilossof added.

"The great thing about this competition is it's been very social and the standard of players range from Olympians to complete beginners. It's been awesome to see how the people interact."

His work, however, is far from over.

"I want to thank everyone who supported the growth of water polo in Orange, it's been awesome to see. Now hopefully we can take it to the next level after COVID set it back a little bit."

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