The BUCS semi-finals for water polo took place in Walsall recently, with both Edinburgh’s men’s and women’s 1^st teams taking part in a tournament that is now becoming a staple in the club calendar each year. The men, albeit underdogs, were looking to emulate last year’s performance and make it through to the finals. The women had put in excellent performances all year round, and were hotly tipped to make it through to their 2^nd finals tournament in 3 years.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for the men, who slumped to defeat in their first two games against familiar opponents Bristol and Manchester. The two games proceeded similarly, with Edinburgh beginning with a strong defence to keep the game close, but then a gap opening up as their opponents scored with no reply. The men will probably have rued their shooting accuracy the most, as they had numerous shots on goal which ended up smashing the woodwork. Sharp shooter Ed Grundy was on target in both matches, as was fresher Rob Tate, who has been an excellent playmaker this season. Despite the 11-2 and 11-3 score lines, the matches were a lot closer than these suggest, remaining relatively competitive until the final quarter when the opposition put the game to bed.

With the knowledge that they had both been eliminated, the men’s last game against Cambridge was a scrap for team pride and the aim was to go home with a victory. This game was a much closer affair, with goals aplenty from Edinburgh. Grundy netted 4 goals as he gained plenty of room to unleash his shot, while there were contributions in both goals and assists from most of the team. Veteran goalkeeper Henry Raley, in his 5^th year with Edinburgh, played a blinder as he made some crucial saves throughout in what definitely assisted in the eventual 9-8 victory.

The women’s first match against old enemies Cardiff promised to be a competitive affair, until their opponents failed to turn up. It later transpired that this was due to a mix-up between Cardiff and Bath about their fixtures scheduling, as an erroneous entry of results from qualifiers had resulted in the two being placed in the wrong semi final groups. Regardless, Edinburgh was awarded the victory. The next match against Manchester did indeed go ahead, and was a tentatively close encounter. Amy Middlemast, having been so deadly all season, added another couple to her season tally of 53 by quickly getting on the score sheet. Manchester however responded, closing Middlemast down and pulling goals back. Edinburgh possibly could have made more of some opportunities, but in the end settled for a 7-7 draw.

The final match against Birmingham came with a simple guarantee – a win would secure qualification. The same went for their opponents, and so another captivating tie was in store. Claire Gambles used her experience to make an excellent impact on the game, scoring one of her now trademark lob shots from half-way to put Edinburgh ahead. Julia Rutherford also caused numerous problems for the Birmingham defence with many smart drives down the wings, which also resulted on her making the score sheet. Birmingham hit back, and had nosed into the lead by the 4^th quarter. Sophie Piper, often so strong in the pit, fell foul to the very strict refereeing and despite dominating her marker was penalised several times for pushing off. In the end, Birmingham did enough to secure a 6-4 victory.

Bizarrely, because of Cardiff’s earlier forfeit all teams were on equal points with one victory, one draw and one loss each. Therefore, the top two for qualification would be decided by goal difference. Controversy then erupted when the tournament directors deemed that the score awarded in Edinburgh’s walkover victory against Cardiff would be 0-0, leaving Cardiff in 2^nd place and Edinburgh in 4^th. SU President Laura Haywood pointed out that there is no mention in the BUCS handbook about 0-0 scores being recorded for forfeits, adding:

“However the Water Polo specific rules do state that all Water Polo fixtures will be played in accordance to FINA and Amateur Swimming Association Rules and Regulations”, and after quoting various FINA rules, concluded:

 “As outlined above in numerous instances, the score result of a forfeit or a walkover is never 0-0, but either 5-0 or 10-0 to the non-offending team.”

Despite the strong protests Aaron Campbell, the BUCS Sports Programme Manager, refused to award the 5-0 victory which would have seen Edinburgh win the group and qualify, at the same time ruling out the possibility of having an extra space created in the finals to accommodate the mix-up.

It was a bitter blow for the ladies, but they took it on the chin and still returned home in good spirits. Despite elimination from BUCS, the season doesn’t end there, with 5 men and 7 women from Edinburgh having being selected to represent Scotland in the Celtic Tri-Varsities in Cardiff later this month – actually giving some of the women a chance to battle it out with their Cardiff Uni counterparts.