Two Welsh water polo players were in action for Great Britain today as the 2025 Men’s U18 European Water Polo Championships began in Rio Maior, Portugal.
Among the 14 athletes selected for GB are Jack Hinton-Davies and William Bamborough.
GB made a winning start with a 20–12 victory over Austria, with both Jack and Will getting on the scoresheet.
The Division I tournament runs from 18th–24th August, taking place alongside the Elite Championships in Oradea, Romania, and marks the debut of the new competition format introduced by European Aquatics last year. The tournament takes place at the Rio Maior Sports Centre, known as Portugal’s ‘City of Sports’ and home to the nation’s High Performance Swimming Centre.
Jack said:
“It’s an honour to represent GB at this level, all the hard work and extra sessions over the years really helped me get here and have payed off, I think it’s also great to have two Welsh Athletes in the GB squad which hasn’t happened for a long time and will be good for Welsh Water Polo to grow.”
William added:
“I have been playing Waterpolo at Welsh Wanderers for 10 years and have had great support from my coaches and team mates. It’s a brilliant sport mixing swimming with a very fast-paced team sport which is really tough to play but great fun.”
“I’m so proud to play for Wales and Great Britain in the sport I love and am really excited to have been selected for the 2025 European Aquatics U18 Water Polo Championships in Portugal.”
Great Britain have been drawn in Group C, where they will go on to face Israel and Belgium in the group stage.
Swim Wales is very proud of their achievements as they compete on the European stage.
Fans can watch the action live throughout the week at euroaquaticstv.com/live
