The cancellation of the major water polo league has thrown Olympic preparations through a loop

The COVID outbreak in Brisbane has now hit Olympic preparations with a major warm-up tournament set to start this weekend cancelled.

Aussie Stingers captain Rowie Webster is adamant the cancellation of the Australian Waterpolo League will not impact her team’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.

Water Polo Australia decided to cancel the national league, due to start in Brisbane on Wednesday, because of the unfolding COVID-19 situation in Greater Brisbane and the area’s impending three-day lockdown.

Webster, who will take part in her third Olympics in Tokyo, said while the situation was disappointing, the athletes had learnt to become flexible in the COVID age and had already adjusted their expectations.

“Everyone’s disappointed because we won’t get as many opportunities to play games leading into the Olympics but this group has dealt with a lot, so we’re pretty resilient, so (we’re ready to) get on with it and move on,” Webster said.

Australian squad members have been training in a bubble on the Sunshine Coast ahead of the Games and were in camp at Kawana – outside of the five Greater Brisbane local government areas of COVID-19 concern - ahead of Monday’s lockdown announcement.

Instead of travelling to Brisbane for the AWL, the players will head to Sydney for a camp for the next fortnight.

“We came in with an open mind and we know that the program’s going to change at the click of a finger with a pandemic, so we’re making the most of what we can control,” she said.

“We’ve got a schedule for the next 24 hours and as it evolves, we’ll evolve with it and Australian Water Polo, I’m sure, will take good care of us.”

Water Polo Australia has today made the difficult decision to cancel the Australian Waterpolo League, due to lockdown and unfolding COVID-19 cases in Brisbane.

For full statement, click here - https://t.co/luEdufHK0zpic.twitter.com/t8AJsX6OH6

— Water Polo Australia (@WaterpoloAus) March 29, 2021

While Webster was set to compete for Balmain in the AWL, the Victorian product was based in Melbourne for most of 2020, including the entire lockdown period.

It made training difficult but Webster and fellow Victorian Stinger Maddy Steere became creative in finding training situations – swimming in wetsuits in Port Phillip Bay, completing passing drills against brick walls and doing home-based cross-training – so a mere competition cancellation is just another hurdle to clear.

It will be 17 months come the Games since the Aussies have played an international match but the Stingers are determined to be competitive in Tokyo.

“That’s probably the most daunting, because you can’t replicate international games, that’s the biggest glitch,” Webster said.

“We’ll do absolutely everything we can to make sure that our aerobic systems are up to scratch and we’ll review more things and get as many training games as possible under our belts.

“Our key messages never change: we’re in this for each other, we’re in this for the country and we have to put four quarters of water polo together for the entirety of the two weeks (of the Games).

“Our medical team works around the clock to make sure we’re safe and we implement and practice really strict protocols, so while (the Games) will be different, this group is definitely committed to the cause

Australian Women’s team captain Rowie Webster Picture AAP/David Clark