A pair of Burnaby athletes have been chosen to represent Canada's national water polo team at the upcoming under-17 championships in Brazil.
Melania Segulja of the Surrey Water Polo Club has been named to the primary women's team, while Riley Milne of the Pacific Storm Water Polo Club has been selected as an alternate on the squad.
The PanAm Aquatics Water Polo U17 Championships, held every two years, is scheduled this year for April 2 to 8 in Bauru — located nearly 330 km northwest of São Paulo.
Of the 12 countries participating, the top four women's finishers and the top four or five men's teams will qualify for the World Aquatics 2024 World Youth Championships.
During the last PanAm Aquatics U17 championships in 2019, Canada claimed silver on the women's side and fourth in the men's pool.
The 2021 event was cancelled due to the then state of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Canadian women's youth national team's best finish was in 2011 at the first-ever tournament when they hoisted the championship trophy.
Segulja and Milne are two of six swimmers from B.C. heading to South America in the spring.
The 2023 Water Polo Canada women's youth national team is as follows:
Primary roster
- Jaya Basu (Montreal, QC – CAMO)
- Cianne Benjamin (Toronto, ON - Shadow Water Polo Club)
- Natalia Blazevic (Vancouver, B.C. - Pacific Storm Water Polo Club)
- Penny Cowan (Stony Plain, AB - Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club)
- Abigail Folk (Ashburn, ON - Mavericks Water Polo Club)
- Andjelina Gavrilovic (Surrey, B.C. - Fraser Valley Water Polo Club)
- Shaya Ghasemzadeh Oghyani (Oakville, ON – Mavericks Water Polo Club)
- Sydney Krushen (Regina, SK - Team Sask)
- Tasha Kulenovic (Vancouver, B.C. - Pacific Storm Water Polo Club)
- Nicole O'Neill (Calgary, AB - Oaks Christian/Calgary Renegades)
- Brooklyn Plomp (Ottawa, ON - Diablo Alliance/Fraser Valley Water Polo Club)
- Melania Segulja (Burnaby, B.C. - Surrey Water Polo Club)
- Alexandra Stoddard (Abbotsford, B.C. - Fraser Valley Water Polo Club)
- Makayla Ulmer-Lutudromu (Regina, SK - Team Sask)
- Maddie Watson (London, ON - Mavericks Water Polo Club)
Alternates
- Taya Bumpas (Regina, SK – Team Sask)
- Riley Milne (Burnaby, B.C. - Pacific Storm Water Polo Club)
- McKenna Pineda-McLean (Calgary, AB - Calgary Renegades)
- Anna Ulmer (Regina, SK - Team Sask)
Coaching staff
- Krystina Alogbo (Montreal, QC) - head coach
- Christi Bardecki (Toronto, ON - Toronto Triggerfish/Toronto Water Polo Club) - assistant coach
- Raine Paul (Spruce Grove, AB – Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club/Surrey Water Polo Club) - assistant coach
