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National team dream a reality for Burnaby teen

Viktoria Orlova has immersed herself in her chosen sport. The sport has embraced her back.
Viktoria Orlova
Sixteen-year-old Viktoria Orlova has emerged as one of Canada’s rising stars in water polo, after making the u18 national team as the youngest player for the upcoming FINA World women’s youth championships in New Zealand.

Viktoria Orlova has immersed herself in her chosen sport.
The sport has embraced her back.
The Burnaby teenager is one of the up-and-coming stars in the Canadian women’s national water polo program, having been selected for the 18-and-under national squad which will compete at the FINA World women’s youth water polo championships next week in New Zealand.
Having been involved in the aquatic sport since the age of seven, Orlova said the excitement of getting selected to the 18u squad washed over her after an intense period of training and waiting.
The coaches reduced the list of 30, chosen after the nationals, to 20 and finally to 12 as players competed in a national league setting.
“It’s nerve-wracking. You can feel the stress everyone is going through,” the 16 year old said of the recruiting process which ate up nearly three weeks of time until the team was announced in October. “It was very upsetting, seeing people not make it. At the same time you’re nervous, excited that you might (make it).”
The Grade 11 Burnaby South secondary student is familiar with the ins and outs of the national program, having completed a similar journey to make the Canadian youth team last year for the Pan American championships in
Jamaica.
Canada finished second at that tournament, but it was the lead-up challenge which proved to be as much an eye-opener as the games themselves.
Orlova endured a lengthy test-and-trial to earn her position on the roster, travelling regularly between Burnaby and Montreal – where the national program is rooted.
“It was a week here, a week there,” she recalled. “After three months they told me I had made it.”
She considers the national training centre as a second home, and is grateful for all the help and direction she gets regarding her school studies from Burnaby South and coaches and teammates in Montreal.
“(The national program coaches) really try to make sure that you are excelling not only physically but mentally. The coaches are always willing to help with the homework – one of the coaches is a math teacher.
“The first time there I was astonished at how big the pool was and how welcoming everyone was,” Orlova added. “When you’re in Montreal there is so much culture – I like the food, poutine, and having time to hang out with my teammates.”
She’s just one of three B.C. players on the u18 team.
Her entry into the sport was a familiar one – a sibling was thriving in the sport and the younger sister wanted to join in the fun.
“My sister (Margarita) was doing water polo and to keep me busy my parents just put me in. I like how fast-paced and mentally challenging it is, the agility involved.
“It can be a very physical sport and I’ve got a lot of scratches to show for it.”
Although she found an instant harmony in the water, that wasn’t true when she tried competitive swimming.
“I did it for one year but it wasn’t really for me. I never really liked it,” she recalled. “Swimming is a basic necessity for you to play water polo, but the technique of swimming is not as important in water polo.”
Margarita is attending Princeton on a water polo scholarship, but has missed the past season, including national team opportunities, due to a shoulder injury.
Getting a university scholarship is also something the teenager would love to do, but first wants to focus on helping Canada medal in New Zealand.
The younger Orlova sister initially played with a Fraser Valley club in Surrey before joining the Pacific Storm program in 2013, based out of Coquitlam and Vancouver.
From there, she established a profile as a talented driver. At the same time, she was selected to the provincial team, and set the stage for her Canadian youth national squad placement in 2015.
Being lefthanded, she brings a unique shot off the wall that presents a different challenge for the opposition. When asked to describe herself as a player, Orlova said the terms competitive, determined and agile were her best traits.
Earlier this year at the Junior Olympics tournament, she proved her mettle as one of her Huntington Beach team’s top scorers and securing a spot on the all-star team.
As she was with last year’s Pan Am team, Orlova is the youngest on the Canadian roster. She is confident the squad can stay among the team’s to beat, with an eye on gold in New Zealand.
Canada’s road to a medal will have to go through pool rivals Hungary, Mexico and Germany. The tourney runs Dec. 12 to 18.
“We’ve been training hard and I think we have a good shot at winning. That’s our goal, to win the tournament,” she said.