Campus Celeb: Rhona Cartwright
Listen up ladies; I have heard many of you talk endlessly about all the new and exciting activities you are going to take up in the New Year. I hate to break it to you all but it is now February and if you plan on sticking to your word now is the time to get to it. Here at Her Campus we firmly believe in learning new skills, trying new things and most importantly staying fit and this week’s Campus Celeb – Aberdeen University’s Women’s water polo captain – Rhona Cartwright has the perfect opportunity for you to do just that!
This week Her Campus caught up with Rhona to learn a little more about water polo, and what the sport is all about. I have to say it became instantly clear that is not for the faint hearted and is a sure fire way to have your fitness skyrocket!
HC: So Rhona, tell us a little about what exactly joining Aberdeen’s water polo team would entail?
R: Well we train 3-4 times a week, depending on matches, for an hour and a half. This includes fitness sessions, tactics and then A LOT of game play.
Rhona explained to us how amazing water polo was for a whole body workout! Gone is the comfort of your feet firmly planted on the floor as you run on the treadmill and slog away on the cross trainer. The most important thing about water polo is – you cannot touch the ground the whole time! We don’t know about you but we may have been taking the seated bliss of the spin bikes for granted all these years!
HC: We have heard rumours that you water polo girls train with the boys, this is obviously quite unusual for team sports. Do you find that this pushes you even harder or is it daunting?
R: Yes we do train with the guys! This may seem daunting to start with but is extremely beneficial. They all have great knowledge of the sport and are incredibly encouraging, which makes us all better players. But the great benefit of having the new pool is there is enough space to train at either ends and work on specific drills with the girls only!
HC: It sounds like you have a really close team and look out for each other, which is great! However, in our research into water polo it has become clear that it can be a pretty violent sport. Are there any words of encouragement you could offer prospective players?
R: Water polo is one of the hardest sports in the world, but that shouldn’t put any of you off! It is also extremely fun, great conditioning for those legs and it isn’t all that scary once you’ve tried it!
It is safe to say that Rhona and her team sound like very fearless ladies – Beyoncé would be proud! Rhona also explained to me that she plays in goals – so she definitely has no fear. I asked her if she had any tips on how to stay cool, calm and collected – water polo goalies definitely don’t get all the protective padding hockey goalies do for example! She replied – ‘Lots of practice with balls flying at your face haha!’ We will have to take your word for it Rhona!
HC: As you explained earlier in water polo you don’t get to put your feet on the ground throughout the match. Does this mean you have to be a very strong swimmer to play?
R: The majority of people who join the team have never played before but have backgrounds in swimming. Obviously the stronger a swimmer you are the easier it is! However, there’s a lot more to the game than just swimming. Also, an FYI, you don’t have to be part of the swimming club to be a water polo player.
For Rhona the best part of being in the water polo team boils down to the amazing people that make up the team. Which as far as we are concerned is the most important part to any sports team or society! She explained ‘Winning as a team is amazing! There is a lot of buzz that you get from playing the game!’ Sounds to us like water polo would be an amazing and incredibly encouraging club to be part of.
HC: And most importantly, it’s a new year, what are your aspirations for the club in 2015?
R: The plans for the club are to expand and get more girls playing as we have started playing in the national league. We have an Aberdeen team, which includes graduates and other girls across Aberdeen and we get to play against other cities. Most of all we want to continue to improve and grow – maybe one year we might even win the league!
You heard it here first gals, the water polo team want new members; you want a new skill, what could be a better match!? The Her Campus girls would love to try it, and who knows maybe it will be our new found love.
We would like to leave you with one last message from Rhona, encouraging you all to get in touch with her and the team if water polo sounds like the sport for you – ‘Come and try something new! We bet you’ll love it.’