Brighouse Sixth Form pupil set to represent Great Britain at under 19 men's underwater hockey world championships in Malaysia

Harry Taylor, 17, started playing underwater hockey, also known as Octopush, aged 12, having first seen the sport while swim training at his local sports centre in Batley.

He has played weekly at Batley, Dewsbury and now at John Charles in Leeds as part of the Yorkshire underwater team ever since.

Two years ago he was encouraged to start training with the GB hopefuls at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds.

Every quarter, an action packed training weekend takes place putting GB hopefuls from all over the country through their paces.

In January this year, Harry and the other 11 under 19 players were selected to represent their country after a rigorous process of checking both players’ aerobic fitness and skills work while playing.

Since January Harry has been working hard to be at the peak of his fitness levels and playing ability in the build up to his, and the team’s, greatest challenge to date, playing as Team GB in the age world championships.

Harry has received support from Brighouse Rotary, for which he is very grateful. Underwater hockey does not currently receive centralised funding, meaning every penny received from charities such as Brighouse Rotary are so important in providing athletes such as Harry with equipment and being able to get to events like the world championships.

Harry and his parents have also undertaken many other activities to get him to Malaysia, where the event starts this weekend.