This weekend saw the newly formed Orkney Voles Canoe Polo team set out through difficult wintery conditions for their first Scottish Division 3 fixtures played on Sunday afternoon in Glenrothes, Fife.

With some trepidation, the Voles lined up for their first game against St Andrews University.  Soon however, any nerves were forgotten and the team got on with the job in hand.  It was a good match, with Orkney Voles coming out victorious 4 goals to 2, with David Bruce scoring a hat trick and Christina Bristow getting the other goal.  This was a great league debut for the Voles.

The next game was against a very strong Lochwinnoch and was much tougher than the first.  The Voles fought hard but unfortunately lost the match 1 goal to 6, with Christina again scoring the only Orkney goal. 

Disappointed with the result, the team talked tactics and rallied for their next match against Dundee University.  The Voles were back on form in this game and managed to take the match 4 goals to nil.  David scored another hat trick, with the other goal again coming from Christina.

The final league game was to be against Strathclyde University but as they were a no show, a friendly was instead played against St Andrews University.  The Orkney Voles were keen to live up to their earlier performance and played well.  St Andrews clearly wanted to settle the score and it was a well fought match.  The Orkney Voles are sure that they took the game 3-1, with another 2 goals for David and 1 for Christina but the official score sheet recorded 2 all.

The Orkney Voles left Glenrothes, in the Voleswagen, feeling pleased with their debut performance.  The journey home was again difficult and the team would very much like to thank Northlink Ferries for holding the boat for a few minutes and getting them all safely back to Orkney.

The Orkney Voles next fixtures will be played on the 20th February in Glenrothes, with opposition coming from Aberdeen Kayak Club, Forth Canoe Club, Glasgow University B and Aberdeen University.

The Orkney 'A' team will play their next Scottish Division 1 games on 30th January in Glenrothes.

Canoe polo training takes place at the Kirkwall Pool from 9pm to 10pm every Friday night during the season.  Spectators are welcome! 
M.K.S.