On Saturday 6th June, 70 participants attended the Festival of Aquatics at Sunderland Aquatic Centre.

Now in its third year at the venue, this unique event—currently the only one of its kind in England—aims to introduce young people and their families to the exciting aquatic sports of Water Polo, Diving, and Artistic Swimming.

The day offered a mix of land-based and pool activities, giving attendees the opportunity to try something new and develop skills across the different disciplines. Coaches, volunteers, and team managers from Sunderland Water Polo, City of Sunderland Diving, Sedgefield Water Polo, and Gateshead Artistic Swimming clubs were present throughout, guiding participants and sharing their expertise.

The festival began with inspiring demonstrations from young athletes from the local clubs, showcasing the skill, dedication, and excitement of their aquatic sports. Following this, participants took part in a range of land-based activities – bouncing and running on the air flow tracks like divers, learning how artistic swimming routines are constructed and how and why water polo players pass and move around the pool to try and get the ball in their opponents goal.

After the land sessions, participants moved into the pool, where they dived, jumped, threw, swam, sculled, and tumbled—laughing and having fun while experiencing each of the aquatic disciplines.

It was wonderful to see so many happy, enthusiastic children enjoying time in the water and discovering new activities.

Feedback from parents and participants about the festival was overwhelmingly positive:

“My children both really enjoyed it. There was great coaching and experience of the different sports.”
“My daughter really enjoyed the festival, especially the diving experience. It was great to see them doing different swimming activities—she can’t wait until the next one!”
“Very well run.”
“Fantastic from booking to the event itself.”
“It was a fantastic way to try new sports and I enjoyed the athletes’ performance.”

A huge thank you goes to all the clubs and volunteers who gave their time and worked so hard to make the festival such a success. Thanks also to Northumberland and Durham Aquatics for once again providing funding—without their support, the event would not be possible. Special thanks to Tesco for donating food and refreshments, Sunderland Aquatic Centre for hosting, and to the parents, guardians, and families who supported their young people in trying something new.