Turkey is in many people’s minds at this time of year but in Murray Dickson’s case it has nothing to do with his Christmas dinner.
The 18-year-old is in Istanbul for the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup that begins today, having become the first Scot in a decade to be selected for the senior GB side.
It is the latest stage in the Stirling athlete’s progression. having previously represented his country at under-17 and under-19 level but, even then, this was a call-up that arrived a few years earlier than he had dared to dream.
The men take on Portugal and China in Group B and Dickson is still pinching himself that he’s going to be involved in a competition that runs until Saturday.
“I'm really excited for it,” confirms Dickson, who juggles his water polo commitments with his studies as a first year Structural and Fire Safety Engineering student at the University of Edinburgh. “I'm delighted I'm getting the opportunity to go and do this. I think it'll be fun.
“I wasn't really expecting it, to be honest. I put my name forward for it and I got it in the end. I was previously with the GB under-17s in Malta and then with the under-19s in Bosnia but getting into the senior team has come sooner than I had hoped.
“I wasn't really expecting to play for them until I was 20 maybe. So, I was quite surprised when I found out that I would be the first Scottish player to make the team for 10 years. It’s a nice honour.”
Like many players, swimming was the gateway that led Dickson to water polo. Six years later he is now a senior international.
“I've been playing water polo since I was 12,” he reveals. “I was originally a swimmer and someone that I swam with suggested that I should come and try it out.
“I went along to one of the sessions and kept on going from there. Nobody in my family had previously played. When my friends suggested it, my brothers came along as well because they swam too. So we all just went along together to try it out.
“I enjoyed it right from the start. I played rugby when I was younger as well so I've always quite liked team sports. I continued swimming until a few years ago when I stopped doing it as a competitive thing. And I stopped rugby a while ago to focus on swimming and water polo.
“I love the team aspect of water polo. You're training together, you're playing together and you have your social events together as well.”
Being a strong swimmer, however, is not a pre-requisite. “Some of my team-mates also have a swimming background. But some of them just started playing water polo. You'll get your swimming experience from training and matches. You'll get better at swimming just by playing.”
Dickson barely has a second to himself given he also represents the university team, plays for Stirling and also trains at Dunfermline with Caledonia. It’s a miracle he has time to open his books.
“Normally, I'm training most day. At the weekends, I've either got training where I need to travel down to England quite often or I could have games in Scotland as well.
“It takes quite a bit of planning and seeing what I can or can’t commit to. But most of the time I'm constantly busy with it. I love playing so I don’t mind that.”
It is not cheap, either, especially for a student. His parents, who have travelled out to watch him this week, have been a major help on that front.
“It's mainly all self-funded,” he said of his endeavours. “My family help me out with some of the expenses. Hopefully it’s proved to be worthwhile so far.”
There are sacrifices, too. An exam meant to take place on Monday has been rescheduled for next year to allow Dickson to travel out to Turkey.
“I got a special exemption to miss it this week thankfully,” he adds. “I have to do it in the recess. My student advisors were happy for me and helped me through the process of getting things sorted out. The university are pretty good that way.”
Even at just 18 years old, Dickson is being seen as a role model across Scotland for many of the youngsters making their way in the sport.
“Some of the younger players that I sometimes see when I go back to Stirling training, they always chat to me about what I've been doing,” he adds. “It's mainly younger brothers of guys that I train with. Hopefully me getting this call-up will inspire them.”
As a predominantly Muslim country, Turkey doesn’t celebrate Christmas but Dickson still hopes to source some last-minute presents after he’s finished in the pool.
“Hopefully there will still be some shops there where I can do my Christmas shopping,” he says with a laugh.
