CANOE polo is not one of best known sports in the region, but one woman is gearing up to compete in this summer's world championships in Japan.

Ellie Bridgstock, 25, from Tunstall, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, is hoping to be selected for the Great Britain senior women's A team.

A squad of eight players will eventually be chosen to fly out to Japan, and she is down to the last ten.

She competed at last year's European Championships, in Ireland, where the team won bronze, and she believes this will stand her in good stead.

She got into the sport, which is like water polo in kayaks, completely by chance after agreeing to go training with friends while at university in Leeds, in 1998. She was then spotted competing in Hull and asked to go for trials for the national team.

"There is quite a lot of skill involved," she said. "And not just the passing skills. You need to be able to paddle quite well so that you can move around."

Miss Bridgstock, who lives in Leeds, is saving money to pay for the trip to Japan in July, but has received some support from Swaledale Outdoor Club, where both her parents are members.