Teams putting on game faces for canoe polo
Canoe polo is a sport many Niagarans will learn more about this week.
There are 600 athletes in Welland right now for the International Canoe Federation World Canoe Polo Championships, with action having started Tuesday and continuing until Sunday.
At Monday’s opening ceremonies at Merritt Park, Team Canada member Cody Underwood said he likes the country’s chances in the tournament.
“I think we have a pretty good shot,” said the Edmonton, Alta., resident who also said he’d be satisfied with an appearance in the quarter-finals.
There are 26 countries competing for the top spot, many of them overseas nations that have several players competing at the highest levels.
“The European championships are almost the same size of the worlds,” said Underwood, who has been involved with the sport for the past eight years and is on Canada’s men’s under-21 team.
“It’s really nice to show Canada to the world and show we can put on a world-class event,” he said.
Bjorn Zirotzki, coach of the men’s German team, said Monday night he was excited to get the action started in front of large crowds throughout the week at Welland International Flatwater Centre, on the Welland Recreational Canal.
“We hope there will be a lot of people there and I think it will be a great thing,” he said.
The women’s under-21 team from Poland has some unfinished business, as its hoping for redemption after taking silver two years ago in Italy.
Poland’s first match is Wednesday, so Tuesday’s schedule involved playing tourist — visiting Niagara Falls and other parts of the region — before the game faces come on for the rest of the week.
“After that, we won’t have much time for sightseeing,” said coach Peter Ksiozekek.
Mayor Frank Campion said he is delighted to have close to a thousand foreign visitors in the city.
“Welland is becoming an international destination for sports and sports tourism,” Campion said.
Once the championships are over, he hopes the athletes will remember their stay in the community for many years to come and share their memories with friends and family once home.
“We’re expecting they are going to go back reporting a fantastic experience in Welland,” he said.
Amanda MacDonald, executive director of the Welland Downtown BIA, said more than 4,000 people attended the opening ceremonies, which also included a free concert by Honeymoon Suite.
She described Monday’s opening ceremonies and parade of nations as “magical” and said the event is one of many ways new life is being breathed into the city.
“We’re seeing a heartbeat come back to our downtown that I don’t think people have seen in a long time,” she said.