Local water polo players recently took home some hardware in a provincial tournament.
Members of the Foothills-based Prairie Dolphins Water Polo Club were in Edmonton over the weekend to compete in the Alberta Water Polo Winter Provincial League.
Three groups of Prairie Dolphins players competed each of them paired with other teams.
The U12 girls were paired with the Calgary Wild, the U14 boys played with the Edmonton Riptides to form the Riptides Blue and Riptides Teal teams, and the U18 boys were paired with Calgary Mako.
Riptides Blue and Teal took bronze and gold medals, respectively, while the U18 boys also took bronze.
Lucas Penniket, a member of the U14 boys, was thrilled with the result.
"It was pretty amazing. It was very stressful but it was one of the greatest experiences I've had playing water polo," said Penniket.
This is his seventh year in the sport.
"The coolest part is how unique it is to all the other sports because you still have the same objective as in basketball or soccer, where you're trying to get to that net and score, but you also have a bunch of different elements. You're in the water swimming, you always have to be treading water, be looking for any sort of action, hopping in and out, doing what your team needs, and the goalie always has to be on his feet and ready. It takes a great deal of stamina and cardio."
His passion for the sport it shared by coach Tyler Jones, who got his start in water polo sport at around 12 years old and started coaching in his late teens.
He intends to continue as a player after graduating from university later this year.
Jones recommends anyone interested in giving it a try to get in touch.
"We're a small, rural club, so we're always looking for more people. We're all about team spirit and building the sport."
More information on the Prairie Dolphins can be seen on their website or Facebook page.