This edition we hear from a North Harbour player performing at the highest level in Europe. Emily Nicholson is playing in the Spanish League, and shares some of her experiences.

The opportunity to play water polo overseas is something I’ve always jumped at the idea of, however I never expected to be able to say that I am currently living in Spain playing professional water polo. Although I am technically in Spain, geographically I’m much closer to Africa than I am mainland Spain. I’m living and playing in a place called Tenerife in the Canary Islands, which are a small group of islands off the northwest coast of Africa. This location definitely has its pros and cons, such as whenever we play a team based in Barcelona or Madrid, we have to fly for 3.5 hours right before we play. However living on an island also means that my apartment looks out onto the ocean, we can still train in bikinis in the middle of winter and when I’m not training I get to spend my free time at the beach. 

My first day here was spent doing a workout on the beach, then training at a water polo course set up in the ocean, followed by sitting at one of the many beach bars for hours just getting to know my team. Although not all days look like this, my daily routine is still something I can’t complain about. We train three times a day every week day, except for one morning and one afternoon that we get off to rest. We always go to the gym in the morning, then straight to the pool for usually a swim set or a legs circuit. Then in the evening we have another pool session which is often shooting, tactics or a scrimmage. In between trainings I usually spend my time at the beach, practicing my Spanish or just having a siesta. 

Most weekends we play either at home or travel to mainland Spain. The game atmospheres here are unrivalled, with stands often packed out with fans with drums and horns. This year the Spanish league has even created player cards for fans to buy and collect. I’ve had kids come up to me after games to ask for my autograph on my card. So it really does make you feel special playing here. 

Being from New Zealand the concept of being able to travel to another country easily is so foreign, however here another country is sometimes only a $30 two hour flight away. After a game in Barcelona we have the rest of the weekend off which means if we want we can stay in Barcelona or go wherever we want. So far I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Paris and London just for the weekend, and have plans to get to a few other countries this season as well. 

Having never learnt another language before it was definitely a culture shock living and playing with people that primarily speak Spanish. Trainings and games are solely communicated in Spanish, so although now I can understand a lot of what is happening, thankfully my teammates have always been more than willing to help translate for me. I’m also grateful to be able to live with two Canadians on my team so we can speak English together, which is very comforting after spending the day trying to understand and learn Spanish. Duolingo is also my new best friend! 

This experience so far has been incredible and I hope that I can make a name for Kiwi’s over here and show everyone back home that this is an amazing option for anyone wanting to play water polo overseas!

February 2023