IRVINE, CA. The USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics—the world’s largest youth water polo tournament—concluded play last Sunday. The last match in Session Two July (25 – 28)—when girls ages 10 – 18 compete—was perhaps the best. 680 Drivers Red took top honors in the 18U Platinum bracket, topping Socal 4-3 in penalty shots after the teams battled to a 10-all tie.
The boys ages 12 – 18 held their tournament earlier—from July 20 -23, where the big news was also the 18U title match. Stanford Water Polo Club, in the final for the second straight year, topped LA Premier 5-4 in penalties after a 5-5 tie in regulation. Both sessions were located in and around Irvine’s William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in balmy Southern California. As is now the tradition for JOs, which used to be located all over the country, each year the tournament alternates between Socal and the Bay Area in Northern California, which is where it will again be located in 2020.
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USA Water Polo CEO Chris Ramsey. Photo Courtesy: USAWP
Being as congenial a host as is possible to the thousands parents and players who thronged to the final day of boys action at Woollett was USA Water Polo CEO Chris Ramsey. Revealing that he too has a connection to Brooklyn (doesn’t everyone?!) Ramsey kindly answered the basic question on the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest youth events in America.
– What is your most memorable experience with JOs?
My JO experience started when going to watch my kids play when they were the 12 and under range. I was a 12U coach at Junior Olympics when I lived on the East Coast, so I learned a lot about the geographical diversity, or—when I was starting out—the lack of it.
When I came to USA Water Polo, the one thing I was committed to was to making Junior Olympics one of the best water polo tournaments in the world.
We’ve gone from about 120 teams to 860 teams this year—and there were another 150 that didn’t qualify. That’s more than 1,000 teams going through the process.
We do a lot of surveying, and I think what you’ll find is an extraordinarily high degree of satisfaction by the parents, the players and the coaches who are taking part in this tournament.
– What do you notice has changed over they years—for better or worse—with your tournament?
Obviously, everyone wants everything to be better—they want the officiating to be better, they want the coaching to be better, they want the play to be better.
As somebody who’s been here, the level of play has increased dramatically over the past 10 years. And there’s a reason why we’re now the largest water polo tournament in the world by a big margin: it’s because this is a tremendous experience for everybody who’s part of it.
I’m proud that it’s the cornerstone of USA Water Polo’s role as a national governing body [for the sport] because it puts the kids first.
That’s what we’re all about.
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COED:
10U Coed: Shore Aquatics 3, Vanguard 1
12U Coed Platinum: San Diego Shores 7, Davis
12U Coed Gold: Del Mar 6, Oahu 3
GIRLS:
10U Girls: Lamorinda Blue 5, 680 Red 2 (six teams competed)
12U Girls Platinum: Laguna Beach A 12, LA Premier 8
12U Girls Gold: Costa Mesa 8, San Jose Express 6
14U Girls Platinum: Socal 5, Laguna Beach A 2
14U Girls Gold: Pride Water Polo Academy 13, Sarasota United 7
14U Girls Classic: Newport Beach 4, SET Pink B 1
16U Girls Platinum: SET A 10, Rose Bowl 5
16U Girls Gold: American River A 8, Viper Pigeons Green 6
16U Girls Classic: PV Water Polo 6, South Coast White B 5
18U Platinum: 680 Red wins 4-3 penalties over Socal Black after 10-all tie in regulation
18U Gold: LA Premier 13, SB 805 B 10
BOYS:
12U Boys Platinum: LA Premier A 8, 680 Red 3
12U Boys Gold: Y Pro 13, CHAWP 11
12U Boys Classic: Newport Beach B 14, Alliance 8
14U Boys Platinum: Newport Beach 12, 680 Red A 9
14U Boys Gold: Capital 16, Tustin Patriot 14
14U Boys Classic: ORWP 18, CC United Blue B 9
16U Boys Platinum: Socal Black A 4, CC United Black A 3
16U Boys Gold: Newport Beach 10, La Jolla A 9
18U Boys Platinum: Stanford A wins 5-4 penalties over LA Premier after 5-all tie in regulation
18U Boys Gold: Greenwich 12, Trident 11
My 12 years old son is very interested in water polo.
which team should he team up at NYC?
Hi:
Wow, you must know that I’m connected with the Brooklyn Water Polo Club! Here’s the link to the club’s website: http://www.brooklynwaterpolo.org
Your correspondent
How did San Antonio TEXAS …
Boy’s Team ( ShellBacks ) “Place”
in Final – Competition Ranking ?
Thanx !
Hi Dennis:
All the results are at the USAWP site here – https://www.kahunaevents.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/NJO_2019/2019_njo_divselect.htm
The San Antonio Shellbacks finished fourth in the 18U Boys Invitational, losing 11-8 to North Penn High School. BTW, they had a successful run at JOs (IMO), winning 4 of 7 matches.
Your correspondent