BEN ALDERSON, a first-year student from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (QE), Darlington, is celebrating after having been selected to represent Team England in the Under 17 Water Polo squad.

Ben is from Newton Aycliffe and has been playing water polo since he was seven.

He will travel to Brno, Czech Republic where he will compete against other European teams in the 2021 EU Nations Junior Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Tournament with Team England’s group stage opponents being Austria, Lithuania and Slovakia.

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The selection process began in February 2020 with Ben travelling across the country and participating in rigorous qualifiers, which tested his swimming, shooting and passing.

He was delighted to discover he had made the final 15 following his final camp in Coventry.

Ben plays for Sedgefield and Rotherham Metro and has also progressed through both the North East Regional Academy and the England National Academy where he trained a year ahead of his group.

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He now trains for 12 hours a week, successfully juggling his passion for water polo with his A Level studies in History, Law, and Sport and Leisure.

Looking ahead to the tournament in Brno, Ben said: "It feels phenomenal to have qualified.

"I remember when I was young that I wrote down on a Christmas card that my Christmas wish was to play water polo for England and now my Christmas wish has come true.

"In the future, I hope to play for the senior men’s team and qualify for the European championships in 2023."

Ben’s parents have set up a GoFundMe page to help with travel and training costs with the trip to Brno expecting to cost £1000.

For full details and to donate, click here.

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