Lancaster's Duncan Holmes has been recognised for services to British water polo

Duncan Holmes vividly remembers the stark message delivered to him by the hospital specialist nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Aged just 25, the Lancaster lad appeared to have a glittering career to look forward to in the sport of water polo.

The goalkeeper of his home-city club, Holmes was tipped to go and represent his country.

Unfortunately, his dream of earning international honours never materialised after he suffered a freak accident in the pool during a match for Lancaster.

Attempting to save a shot, Holmes suffered a searing pain across his shoulders, akin to whiplash.

After undergoing tests and examinations and eventually a MRI scan, Holmes was handed the scary prognosis that he faced a lifetime in a wheelchair without the necessary medical intervention.

Thankfully, he was able to make somewhat of a recovery, but the injury would end his career in the pool.

Many people could – and perhaps would – have lurched into a downward spiral after receiving such devastating news.

But instead he decided to put his skills and knowledge of the sport to good use in other ways.

He became the coach of Lancaster and presided over a period of sustained success as the city’s polo team dominated domestically and competed in Europe in the late 1990s early 2000s.

Holmes then became a match official, with the crowning glory arriving eight years ago when he was selected for the London Olympic Games – going on to judge the gold medal match between Italy and Croatia.

It's this kind of dedication which has resulted in him being awarded the Dave Warriner Memorial Trophy by The British Water Polo League.

“I had an accident in the pool playing for Lancaster,” said Holmes, who is now aged 59.

“We were playing away at Stoke and I went to save a shot with both arms outstretched and got whiplash across both shoulders.

“I knew something was wrong straight away because I could not pull myself out of the water or throw the ball.

“I just lost all strength and power.

“The next day I went to hospital, they then passed me on to my GP.

“It went on for quite a bit before I ended up having a MRI scan and the specialist told me that if I had left it any longer, I would be in a wheel chair.

“I slipped two discs and I needed an operation on my neck.

“But that was the end of my career in the pool as a water polo player.

“It’s 25 years ago since it happened and even now I still have problems with it.”

Despite the seriousness of his condition, Holmes fought back to health and became a prominent part of Lancaster’s surge to dominance across the country.

From 1996 to 2011, the Salt Ayre Sports Centre-based club won 12 national league titles and had 10 British Championship successes.

They also ventured to play across the continent, coming up against the best teams in Europe.

“We dominated British water polo for more than 10 years, winning British Championships and National Leagues,” said Holmes, who has a son Gavin.

“The team competed in Europe when we went to play in the Champions’ League.

“We went to Rome, in Italy, Israel, Germany, Croatia.

“It’s the Eastern European countries which are the top teams – Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia.

“Italy, Spain – most of these countries have professional leagues.

“We struggle in this country to get financial support because water polo is a minority sport.

“I remember when we played the Italians in Rome – they were all turning up in their club cars.

“There were banners all around the city.

“We were always up against it.

“I remember we lost to the Croatian team 12-8 which was a good result.

“ I think that was in 2005.

“We then had to play Germany and if we had beaten them then we would have qualified fore the second round.

“No British team had ever qualified for the second round and we were leading Germany.

“But one of their players punched one of our better players Colin Burgess and broke his jaw.

“The referees never saw it, and they ended up beating us by a couple of goals.

“Colin was a top international player who was the top scorer in the British League for a number of years.

“There were teams from Holland and France and we always would have good games against them.”

After around 15 years at the helm of Lancaster, Holmes moved into officiating the sport and it was through that avenue that he got the chance to be part of the London Olympics.

His specific role during the matches over the course of the Games was to be the 30-second judge.

During a game of water polo, each team is allowed to be in possession of the ball for 30 seconds before they either shoot or hand over possession.

“That was my role at the Olympics, it was so intense.

“Every time, a team lost possession you had to set the clock back to 30 seconds.

“There were that many people – spectators, players delegates, officials – watching, you just could not make a mistake at all.

“The judges were sat right beside the pool and I officiated in the qualification rounds and was fortunate to do the gold medal match between Italy and Croatia.

“But it was such a great experience to be part of the Olympics. We got to go to the opening and closing ceremonies. It was absolutely amazing time.”