Water Polo star Katie Blunt returned to the pool in style

Katie making one of her many saves at State Champs.

Photo: Curtesy of Katie Blunt.

Monash water polo champion and Medicine student, Katie Blunt, made a grand return to competitive water polo earlier this month following a 3 year hiatus.

Formerly a member of the Australian under-21 squad, Katie had to decide between taking a break from her studies in order to pursue water polo, or to retire and put her degree first.

“I retired mostly so I could pursue my medical degree,” Katie said.

“I was in the Australian Junior under-21 squad at the time and unfortunately missed out on selection for the World Junior Championships.

“I was the last player cut and that probably also played into it, I was quite devastated after that and it played into the decision as well.”

Collaborating with Monash University played a role in Katie’s return after spending last year working once a week as a water polo coach. 

“Last year I coached the Monash University Water Polo Club once a week, and I guess that gave me a taste of what I was missing and sort of inspired me to consider playing again,” Katie said.

Team Vic.

Photo: Curtesy of Katie Blunt.

As part of her studies Katie was put on placement in rural Victoria, and living regionally opened the door for Katie’s return to water polo.

Katie’s comeback to competition saw her compete in the Australian Country Water Polo Championships up on the Gold Coast earlier this month.

“Being regional and rural for my placement has opened up the opportunity to compete in this alternate pathway, I wasn’t eligible to compete in the country championships previously,” Katie said.

An inexperienced Victorian team was up against it, facing the tall task of playing 9 games in only four days of competition.

“We definitely started off on the back foot in terms of the experience of our players, but we came together quite well throughout the week,” Katie said.

“Playing 9 games over four days was a lot, even for the really good teams like NSW and QLD you could see that it was a lot.

“However, we had some really strong performances against some great teams in NSW and QLD which was positive.”

Despite her teams struggles Katie was pleased with her individual efforts, receiving praise from multiple members of her opposition.

“I was really happy with my performance, it’s hard as a goalkeeper when you’re playing a strong team to demonstrate how well you’ve played but I got consistent feedback from the others team’s coaches that I was playing really well,” Katie said.

“That was a really positive thing for me.

Katie in action.

Photo: Curtesy of Katie Blunt.

“Our first game against QLD we lost 9-4 but I saved 20 shots, so that sort of performance, whilst probably not reflected in the score line and how we did, I was really happy with.”

Now in the final year of her Medicine degree, Katie hopes to continue playing water polo in the near future.

‘I’m waiting to hear, based on this tournament, about whether I was selected for the Australian Country water polo team,” Katie said.

“I definitely think I’m in with a chance for it which is cool.

“The next thing I’m sort of working towards is player-coaching the Unisport championship water polo team for Monash.

 “That’s in September, so that’s what I’m going to be putting my focus onto now, and if the team works hard and we all come together, I’m hoping we can perform quite well in that competition.”

Keep an eye out for Katie and fingers crossed she’ll get her chance to represent the green and gold, in the near future.

Congratulations on your return Katie, it’s a pleasure to have you back!

Written by Joseph Arthur, Media Coordinator