Bond University students Bella Knight and Cosette Winter are part of the Queensland Maroons, who have defended their Australian Country Water Polo Championship title in Ballarat.
For Knight, the championship marked a return to competitive water polo that she did not originally plan for when she arrived at Bond.
The New Zealand native came to the Gold Coast after years of competing at an elite junior level with the intention of stepping away from the sport.
But a return through Bond’s social club environment gradually shifted that plan.
“I was really over water polo before I came to Bond,” Knight said.
“But starting socially again reminded me that it’s meant to be fun. I missed the community side of it.”
What started as casual social games soon developed back into regular training and then selection into the Queensland Maroons.
For Winter, the competition came during a demanding period balancing sport with the final stages of her Master of Architecture degree.
Through Bond’s Elite Sport Program, Winter received funding support that helped cover a significant portion of the cost of competing at the national level.
“I actually wouldn’t have been able to go to this competition without the Elite Athlete Fund,” Winter said.
“The competition was expensive, and it came right after my thesis submission, so I hadn’t been able to work as much as I normally would.”
Originally from the Sunshine Coast, she spent much of her junior years travelling long distances for training, often making multiple trips to Brisbane each week.
“My parents would drive my sister and I an hour and a half each way for training,” she said.
“So to now have the opportunity to study and continue competing while being supported at Bond has been really great.”
Both athletes said Bond’s water polo environment, from social to more competitive pathways, has played a major role in their development.
“We’ve worked hard to create a really welcoming environment at Bond”, Winter said.
“There are opportunities for people at every level, whether they’re completely new to the sport or wanting to compete at a high level.”
Bond student Finn Anderson also represented Queensland at the championships, helping the men’s side finish fifth overall.
