Brent Rutemiller - (Author)

Late last week, after conducting interviews, digging in on statistics and pounding away at my keyboard, I was ready to publish a piece on how LIU women’s water polo—despite only eight available players, including two goalies—was primed for a run at the 2021 Metro Atlantic Athletics Conference (MAAC)...

BROOKLYN, NY. It took more than a year—due to COVID-19—but the women’s water polo team of Long Island University  finally got to swim in its home waters. Originally scheduled to open at home on March 21, 2020, when the Sharks (4-0; 4-0 MAAC) tipped off last night against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conf...

Editor's Note: This is the final in a series of articles examining the health of the national governing body for U.S. water polo in the wake of Bahram Hojreh's criminal and civil sexual abuse cases and the coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in more than 500,000 American deaths. Other articles in...

In unraveling how USA Water Polo’s current leadership—including Board Chair Michael Graff and CEO Christopher Ramsey—have dominated U.S. polo for the past 15 years, the thread leads to Terence Ma. Second in command to former USAWP President Rich Foster, Ma was bounced out of the organization in 2007...

With a spot in the Olympics on the line Sunday at the Zwemcentrum Rotterdam, Toni Popadic—the backup goalie for the Croatian men’s water polo squad—delivered perhaps the biggest save of his national team career. Russia was leading 15-14 in third place match at the Olympic Games Qualification Tournam...

In a devastating blow to the tight-knit community of water polo players on the island of Puerto Rico, Jorge Gonzalez passed away last Friday at the age of 75. Among the first players to be recruited by Head Coach Harry Hauck to compete on the island’s nascent men’s team, Gonzalez was notable as one ...

Last month in an interview with Swimming World, USA Water Polo CEO Christopher Ramsey claimed his organization didn't need to pressure California politicians to reopen pools for polo in the Golden State. “I don’t see it as our position to lobby the state of California,” Ramsey said on January 8, ref...

Editor’s Note: erroneous reports out of Puerto Rico said that Harry Hauck, considered by most to be the grandfather of water polo on the island, had passed away after a lengthy illness. Swimming World inadvertently published an obituary to this effect. In fact, Coach Hauck is alive and—even though h...

Harry Hauck, universally acknowledged for establishing competitive water polo on the island of Puerto Rico, passed away Saturday at the age of 91. “Harry Hauck no doubt is the grandfather of the sport of water polo in Puerto Rico,” said Carlos Steffens, who represented the island in the 1975, 1979 a...

Restrictions on travel and public gathering due to the novel coronavirus forced the 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly—typically a lively gathering of polo movers and shakers from all over America—to be held virtually last Saturday. Streamed on YouTube, with a live Zoom question and answer session...

Beginning in October of last year, USA Water Polo unleashed a shrewd social media campaign. #WaterPoloTough highlighted exceptional athletes as they displayed remarkable ability and resilience. Skillfully produced by the prominent British advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, the series of vignettes—c...

At the 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly, William Smith, a long-time supporter of American polo, was unanimously elected as chairman of the USAWP board. Smith takes over from outgoing chairman Michael Graff, who after 15 years leading the U.S. national governing body for polo will term out of boa...

Events later today at the USA Water Polo General Assembly may shed light on divisive sexual abuse accusations that have roiled America’s national governing body for the sport. The organization’s biennial exercise in democracy, it is the first public event since Christopher Ramsey, USAWP’s Chief Exec...

Continuing Swimming World's exclusive interview with Christopher Ramsey, CEO of USA Water Polo, the conversation picks up with USAWP's executive director discussing financial challenges due to the cancellation of a majority of the organization's premier events—including the Junior Olympics, the worl...

At a time when perhaps being USA Water Polo CEO is not so desirable, Christopher Ramsey plans to stay put—in spite of critics clamoring for his removal and a raging pandemic that has brought the sport to a virtual standstill. A petition launched two weeks ago by former Olympians, past national team ...

During a moment of extreme disruption in American society, including unrest due to continued racial discrimination and violence, Clarke Weatherspoon and USA Water Polo’s Racial Equity & Reform Task Force seek to open up swimming and water polo to all, regardless of race or gender. It is no surprise ...

Amidst a plethora of petitions regarding swimming and water polo in the U.S., add an effort by a pair of California parents urging public officials to reopen public pools despite COVID-19. Sean Plotkin, a parent whose life-long love of all things aquatics includes swimming, scuba diving and water po...

“This is the sort of thing that has the potential to wreck lives,” said Therese Langan, an authority on the treatment of sexually abused teens. Langan was referring to the downstream effects of sexual assault on the young players under the tutelage of Bahram Hojreh, a one-time age group water polo c...

In response to the petition launched Wednesday calling for the resignation of USA Water Polo CEO Christopher Ramsey and Board Chair Michael Graff, late Wednesday night the organization released a statement. It alleges that one of the USAWP's staff members is listed as a supporter without their conse...

In an extraordinary action, select members of the American water polo community have set up a petition demanding that Christopher Ramsey, USA Water Polo CEO, and Michael Graff, USAWP Board Chair, step down. [Water Polo Olympians Start Petition Demanding Removal of USA Water Polo CEO, Board Chairman]...