Alicia McCormack (born 7 June 1983 in
Helensburgh, New South Wales
Helensburgh, New South Wales, Australia is a small town, located 45 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and north of Wollongong and north and above the Illawarra escarpment and region. Helensburgh is in the Wollongong City ...
) is an Australian
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
. Her playing career started at the age of fourteen with the
Kirrawee High School water polo team, and today she plays for the Cronulla Water Polo Club in the
National Water Polo League and is a member of the
Australia women's national water polo team
The Australia national women's water polo team represents Australia in women's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Water Polo Australia. It was one of the most successful women's water polo teams in the world. It is curre ...
. Although she did not play water polo in 2010 due to injury, McCormack has won gold medals at the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
and the
2006 FINA World Cup; a silver medal at the 2007 FINA World Championships; and bronze medals at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, 2005 FINA World League Super Finals, 2008 FINA World League Super Finals and 2009 FINA World League Super Finals.
Personal life
McCormack was born on 7 June 1983 in
Helensburgh, New South Wales
Helensburgh, New South Wales, Australia is a small town, located 45 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and north of Wollongong and north and above the Illawarra escarpment and region. Helensburgh is in the Wollongong City ...
.
She is tall, weighs , is right handed and has a tattoo featuring the Olympic rings.
[
McCormack entered Helensburgh Public School in 1988 as a kindergartener] and later graduated from Kirrawee High School. She began a Bachelor of Primary Education while on scholarship at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS).[ Her partner is a Navy clearance diver.][
McCormack was at a barbecue attended by ]Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educat ...
when he visited Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 2010. At the barbecue, people ".... were surprised by the amount of "royal" attention McCormack, the Australian goalkeeper and a member of the ronzemedal winning team at the Beijing Olympics, received especially when Prince William was seen to bow to the amused McCormack at a barbecue."
In 2010, McCormack was working at the New South Wales Institute of Sport
The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high performance sports training institute located in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides world leading coaching, performance support and daily training ...
as the personal assistant to Charles Turner, the chief executive of the organisation.[
Subsequently McCormack married Ben Smith with whom she has two sons. After working for Water Polo Australia in administration and coaching, McCormack and her family traveled around Australia for 12 months. In 2017 the McCormack Smith family moved to Canowindra in the Central West of NSW where they have a farm. McCormack is also pursuing a career in real estate and property management.
]
Water polo
McCormack is a goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
, and prefers to wear cap number thirteen.[ She started playing water polo when she was fourteen years old for the Kirrawee High School team.][ In 2000, she represented New South Wales on the state junior team.][ She has a water polo scholarship from the ]New South Wales Institute of Sport
The New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) is a high performance sports training institute located in New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales government agency provides world leading coaching, performance support and daily training ...
.
Club water polo
McCormack played her club water polo for the Cronulla Water Polo Club in the National Water Polo League,[ serving as the team's head coach in 2010 when she was unable to play due to a shoulder injury.] She returned to the playing roster in 2011, while also serving as an assistant coach on the team.[ She continued her involvement with the club into the 2012 season – during which she helped the side to 8–4 and 7–4 wins in the first two games of the season.] She took a break from the Cronulla team following their 18 February 2012 game in order to attend the national team training camp.
Senior national team
McCormack was a member of the Australia women's national water polo team
The Australia national women's water polo team represents Australia in women's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Water Polo Australia. It was one of the most successful women's water polo teams in the world. It is curre ...
. She played her first game with the senior team at the 2003 Holiday Cup in the United States.[ In 2005, she was part of the side that won a bronze medal at the FINA World League Super Finals in Kirishi, Russia.] That year, she was also part of the team that finished sixth at the FINA World Championships in Montreal, Canada.[
]
In 2006, McCormack won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
in Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
.[ That year, she was also part of the Australian side that finished fourth at the FINA World League Super Finals in ]Cosenza
Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.[ She was also part of the 2006 FINA World Cup team in ]Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, that won a gold medal.[ In a 2007 Asia-Oceania qualifier for the World League Super Finals, she made seventeen saves in a 19–2 victory against Japan.] She was part of the 2007 silver winning side at the FINA World Championship in Melbourne, Australia.[ She played in goal in the December 2007 series against New Zealand where Australian won the first two tests 18–1 and 17–1.]
McCormack was part of Australia's Oceania Olympic qualification campaign in 2008. In an 18–1 victory over New Zealand during the qualifiers, she made twelve saves. She was named to the team that competed in 2008 at the FINA world league preliminary round in Tianjin, China. In a 2008 Asia-Oceania qualifier against China for the World League Super Finals, she played in the 11–9 win that went to a penalty shoot out. She helped the team win by making a two handed stop of a Chinese shot in the last minutes of the game. She competed in the FINA World League Super Finals in Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, where Australia took home a bronze medal. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
as a member of the Australia women's national water polo team.[ Her team ended up in the bronze medal match after losing 8–9 to the United States in the semi finals and playing against Hungary for the bronze. Earlier in the Olympics, her team had tied the Hungarians.]
In 2009, McCormack was part of the Australian side that finished third at the FINA World League Super Finals in Kirishi, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. She was also part of the team that finished sixth at the FINA World Championships in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy, in 2009.[ In April 2011, she attended a training camp at the ]Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
where the coach was "selecting a team for the major championships over winter." She competed in a warm-up match for the 2011 FINA World League against Italy in Ostia
Ostia may refer to:
Places
*Ostia (Rome), a municipio (also called ''Ostia Lido'' or ''Lido di Ostia'') of Rome
*Ostia Antica, a township and port of ancient Rome
*Ostia Antica (district), a district of the commune of Rome
Arts and entertainment ...
, Italy, in July that Australia won 12–11. In February 2012, she was named to the final training squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. She attended training camp that started on 20 February 2012 at the Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
. The team of seventeen players will be cut to thirteen before the team departs for the Olympic games, with the announcement being made on 13 June. She was part of the Stingers squad that competed in a five-game test against Great Britain at the AIS in late February 2012. This was the team's first matches against Great Britain's national team in six years.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, she was part of the team that won bronze.
See also
*
* List of Olympic medalists in water polo (women)
* List of women's Olympic water polo tournament goalkeepers
* List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Alicia
1983 births
Living people
Sportswomen from New South Wales
Sportspeople from Wollongong
Australian female water polo players
Water polo goalkeepers
Olympic bronze medalists for Australia in water polo
Water polo players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
New South Wales Institute of Sport alumni