Pennine Canoe Polo achieved 14th place in the European Canoe Polo Champions League in St Omer, France.
The Mirfield-based team, having never previously qualified, secured a place in the competition after finishing second in the UK National League this year.
Pennine CP began the competition with a series of very close fought matches which saw them triumph against the Polish champions MOSW and the Belgian runners-up Veurne.
A defeat 5-4 in the dying seconds against the Dutch champions Gronigan was followed by a great performance but 4-2 defeat – after being ahead at half-time – against Rothe Mule Essen, who were the eventual winners and European champions, in the quarter finals.
In their play-off matches Pennine enjoyed success by beating the Irish champions Kilcock and the Spanish runners-up Roderia to finish 14th out of 24 teams in the competition.
Pennine, who train on the river Calder near the Pear Tree pub in Mirfield, are looking to improve on this performance for next season with a series of national and international tournaments in their competition calendar.
The team regularly compete all over the UK as well as abroad in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland and Italy and they begin next season’s campaign by defending their title as the Yorkshire champions.
The club are actively seeking sponsorship and funding which can be displayed on club kit and boats, and anyone interested in helping with funding can contact chair@penninecanoeclub.org.uk
For more information on Pennine Polo @PennineCRC on Twitter or visit their website www.penninecrc.org
