Border water polo referee James O'Brien is relishing his biggest opportunity to date after recently attending the Australian National Youth Championships.
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O'Brien was invited by Water Polo Australia to referee the under-16 and 18 boys and girls at the championships in Brisbane and was appointed to see over the under-18 boys and under-16 girls bronze medal matches.
The water polo enthusiast also attended a master class with Australian and US head male and female coaches.
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"It was such a great opportunity to be able to referee and represent Australian Water Polo at one of the highest levels of the game," O'Brien said.
"The appointments to the medal matches is one of my highest achievements and recognition so far by Water Polo Australia.
"To be able to referee the Australian born 2002 training games and to ref alongside Fina, international and current Olympic referees were some of the highlights.
"It was just so incredible to be exposed to their expertise and knowledge."
O'Brien hopes to receive more refereeing opportunities and pathways at national and international levels and is looking forward to attending his third international tournament in Auckland at the Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Festival this year.
Around 900 games were played with 3500 participants across four age groups.