ATHERTON’S Grace Rowland admits she will be on a mission to put water polo on the map after being selected to represent Great Britain at the inaugural European Games in Baku.

Rowland has long been a fan of the sport, having first started off swimming aged four before progressing onto water polo three years later.

The 16-year-old former Tyldesley Water Polo Club member has been steadily working her way up the age ranges ever since, and now finds herself on the Great Britain Under-17 squad.

Back in March, the team qualified for this summer’s European Games after finishing in the top two in the group at the qualifiers in Nice.

And Rowland will have to get ready to pack her bags once again after being named among the 153-strong Great Britain team for the first ever European Games in Azerbaijan from June 12-28.

“I had to check on the British website to see if I was on the team, so I raced to my laptop at seven in the morning to check,” said Rowland.

“It’s insane, absolutely incredible, that I got selected. I’m so excited about it, and I’m counting down the days until I go.

“It will be the biggest competition of my career. You have the Olympics, World and European Championships and then this is right up there.

“It’s going to be really exciting to get the kit, and that’s something I can keep forever and that will remind of what I achieved.

“We are just going to work hard and try our best. Hopefully it can be an opportunity to show that water polo is a great sport and should be taken more seriously in Great Britain.”

Baku 2015 will represent a unique taste of multi-sport action for the water polo players who will be part of Team GB for the first time.

Rowland will be joined on the team by Tyldesley Water-Polo Club team-mate Hayley Price.

Proud dad Dennis Price said: "Hayley is over the moon about it and it will be one of the main highlights of her career so far.

"She went away with the Under-17s in March and that is where they qualified.

"It is great to have two players from Tyldesley in the same team as they have played together for years.

"Often when Hayley makes a save in goal the ball goes straight to Grace and the team score."

Paul Costello, water-polo coach at Tyldesley, said: "This is an amazing achievement for the girls and the club.

"To have two girls who live in Atherton and Tyldesley selected for GB out of a squad of 13 is a fantastic achievement and recognition of the hard work the two girls have put in.

"The Water Polo competition will take place from June 21-22 in a temporary but dedicated water-polo arena created as part of the European Games Park."

The women’s competition will be a 12-team tournament that will see British athletes take on Greece, Netherlands, Hungary, Germany and Israel in Group A.

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