Galway gears up for another sporting event next week when the city hosts the 2011 Irish Canoe Polo Open.
Taking place on the weekend August 27 and 28 at the Claddagh Basin, the event, organised by Canoe Polo Ireland, is the highlight of the year for this growing water sport.
Canoe polo players from throughout Ireland are expected to travel to Galway, in addition to several teams from overseas. In the past teams from Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Russia, USA, Japan and Iran have competed in this blue ribband tournament of Irish Canoe Polo.
Galway has hosted this tournament for the past three years and has once again been given the honour. The venue has always attracted a big crowd and it is regarded as the most popular venue in the country due to its ideal location.
The tournament starts early Saturday morning and will finish Sunday afternoon with the Irish Open Final featuring the top two teams in the competition.
Canoe polo, also called kayak polo in some countries, is a competitive ball sport played on water, in a defined "field", between two teams of five players, each in a kayak . The object of the game is to get the ball into the opponent's goal.
