Canoe polo event has Mullingar Harbour 'buzzing'

Mullingar Harbour was buzzing on the weekend last weekend with the biggest boating and canoe polo event of the year, Overload!

This annual event brought 150 young kayakers and their boats to the harbour for two days of canoe polo activities.

Canoe Polo is a five-a-side team sport like basketball, but played in kayaks on canals and lakes. Ivan McDonald from Mullingar Harbour Canoe Polo Club says that novices quickly get bitten by canoe polo bug.

"It is a challenging and fun activity for the players and a great spectator sport," he said.

Children from Belfast, Cavan, Dublin, Edenderry, Galway, Kilcock, Kilcullen, Kilkenny, Moy and Tullamore joined their Mullingar counterparts in the harbour for two days of learning and fun.

Mullingar Harbour has become a leading location for the sport of Canoe Polo in Ireland, and the local club are the most frequent users of the harbour, training four times a week over the summer. The club was founded just four years ago and has 75 young people training several times a week on the canal in the heart of Mullingar.

Already the club has won three international trophies and two of its members have represented Ireland on U21 men and women's teams. The club has hosted the national club championships for the last three years, brining over 250 kayakers to the town every year.

"The harbour is ideally located and provides four large rectangular areas perfect for a canoe polo pitch," Ivan says.

"Last weekend, the children took part in a mixture of on-land and on water activities The event catered for children from all skill levels from beginners through to experienced players with four and five years experience.

"The entire event is run by volunteers with the generous sponsorship of local Mullingar businesses and Westmeath County Council. Many of the volunteer coaches took part in the first Overload! six years ago so it was great to see them back giving their time to help younger players develop and have fun," he said.

Mullingar Harbour Canoe Polo Club continues regular training the harbour until late October and will host a Come and Try Day on September 23 for children aged 9-13. Register your interest at www.mullingarcanoepolo.com/join-the-club.