Antony Perry April 14, 2012
If Gavin Woods impresses Australian water polo coach John Fox in today's All Star fixture at the AIS, he will be one step closer to securing a fourth Olympic Games appearance for Australia at this year's London Olympics.
Come June 22, when the final squad for the London Games is announced, if he is successful in achieving the feat it will merely be another achievement to add to the Woods family's extraordinary list of accolades within the sport.
David Woods, Gavin's father, enjoyed a glittering 10-year stint in the Australian national side, competing in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games and two world championships in 1973 and 1975.
Gavin's sister, Taryn, was a part of the Australian women's team which won gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. His cousin, Bronwyn Mayer, was also a member of the 2000 gold medal-winning team.
Woods said having family members heavily involved within the sport had helped him achieve what he had.
While adding to the list was the least of Woods's worries, he said competing in a fourth Olympic Games would be nice. The 34-year-old, however, is aware gaining selection will be a difficult task.
''The national coach is going to be there, and leading up to the Olympics he'll be using this game to base a lot of his selections on, so there's a lot of expectations and everyone will be looking to perform well,'' Woods said.
The AIS pool will host the top 26 players in the men's and women's National Water Polo League as they face off in the annual All Stars fixture this afternoon.
The women will compete for the Cathy Parkes Trophy at 4:30pm, while the men will face off for the Andrew Kerr Cup at 6:30pm.