A new Water Polo club is making a splash in Vernon.

The group, created by Sarah Lauman, aims to provide the sport to athletes in the North Okanagan.

"The goal is to offer water polo to the Vernon community and raise awareness of the sport to people in the Okanagan aged 15 and up," said Lauman to The Morning Star. "We had two try-it sessions in November to gauge interest and had a good turnout."

A lot of the athletes, according to Lauman, were coming back to the sport after trying it in high school, as Vernon did not have a dedicated club.

"It was great to see people get back into the sport, as it offers a different aquatic experience than lane swimming," she said. "You learn and chat with one another in a team setting."

Water polo is a scaled-back version of soccer. Teams of six (and a goalie) pass a ball around the pool while treading water and attempt to score by getting the ball into the opponent's net. The sport is physically demanding, as players are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool.

The first of 10 winter sessions were held on Sunday, Jan. 5, where 14 people, aged 15 to 70, showed up. The club will continue the sessions at the Vernon Rec Centre until the early spring, where they hope to continue play into the summer. 

"Our goal is to expand and offer a youth component to that," she said. "Hopefully, with interest, we can offer a developmental youth program and, ideally, an Okanagan league developed in the future, where we can compete against the likes of Kelowna."

Lauman explained that there are several high-level youth players in Kelowna, but they have to travel to the Lower Mainland for play and developing something within the Okanagan would be important.

"Right now, we are focusing on inner-city development."

For those wanting to try their hand at the sport, the national Water Polo governing body offers everybody a one-time, free 14-day trial session.

"Anyone who is interested can reach out (through ) and they will set up the free trial to whatever club they are located near," said Lauman. "This is a great initiative, as not everybody has played the sport, as even I only got into the sport in university, as there was nothing on offer in Vernon at the time."

Laumen added that everyone has been "really appreciative" of the VRC to open up pool time for them.

"People are just so happy to be able to be competitive again, even at an older age."