2017 – Brooke Dickie

THE Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are on the radar of talented Albury water polo star Brooke Dickie.

The 18-year-old has had a decorated junior career and has recently relocated to Sydney to continue her growth in the sport. Her long list of achievements has led to her receiving the final nomination for the 2017 Norske Skog Young Achiever of the Year Award.

Dickie has joined the Sydney University Lions in the National Water Polo League (NWPL), who are so far undefeated this season, and commenced training at the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS).

In what has been a “whirlwind” 12 months, Dickie played in the FINA World Youth Women’s Water Polo Championships in December alongside fellow Albury product Bridget Johnstone, before the full-time move to Sydney.

“I feel like I’ve been here, there and everywhere,” she said. “As soon as HSC finished, I was up in Sydney for training a week later, as soon as that finished I was off to a training camp in Canberra for two weeks and then off to the world championships.

“The standard is very high (in Sydney) and I think it has really improved my water polo.

“Even from world championships last year and looking to where I am now, my awareness and being able to read the play and understand plays is a lot better.

“I’m also a lot more confident in my decision making and am more confident to back myself and try new things in a game.” The Australians finished ninth overall, but finished the tournament on a high with wins against New Zealand and Germany.

“We were playing against Olympians, it was amazing,” Dickie said.

“I’ve learnt so much during this past 12 months and I can see a big improvement.

“The next couple of years, I want to keep training hard and see where it goes.

“In the middle of the year, an under 20s team is going to the world championships, so I’m hoping to make that team and move into the senior ranks.

“My big aim is to go to the Olympics in 2020, so I will try to use the little stepping stones here and there to work my way up from junior to senior level.”

Dickie and Johnstone have become prime examples of proving that it doesn’t matter where you come from when it comes to succeeding in the sporting arena.

“We can show other people in Albury that if you put in the effort, you can succeed,” she said.

“Where you live restricts you to an extent, but you can still go far with it.

“Even though you’re from a country town, you can still do as well as the people from the city can.”