USA Water Polo Speedo Cup Comes to Missouri

ST. PETERS, MO, October 15. WATER polo’s fall festival for youth is coming soon. USA Water Polo has recently announced water polo’s Speedo Cup, the 11th year tournament for 14-year-olds, will take place at the Rec Plex Aquatic Facility in St. Peters, Missouri from November 12-15.

“The Speedo Cup is one of our organization’s most prided events,” said USA Water Polo president and tournament creator Rich Foster. “The tournament has continued to encourage the growth of youth water polo throughout the United States.”

Foster’s intent with the Speedo Cup was to have a tournament similar to the Little League World Series, where teams in different geographic zones earn their ticket by way of their finishes in local qualification tournaments. Once on its feet, Foster turned over the development and administration of the league to Stan and Mary Sprague. Stan is pleased with the growth and popularity of the tournament and sees a good showing ahead for next month.

“We’re not looking to build up a big tournament like the JOs,” admits Sprague. “We are after getting one team from each zone represented. Areas like Chicago have seen tremendous growth. They had 19 teams competing in their qualifier this year.”

The tournament will have boys and girls divisions, with 12 teams competing on each side.

Three members of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team—Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/Long Beach Shore), Brett Ormsby (El Cajon, CA/UCLA/Bruin WP) and Brenda Villa (Commerce, CA/Stanford/Commerce WP)—have previously competed in the Speedo Cup. Villa competed in the tournament on a boy’s team before the tournament had a girls division.

This year’s 60-game tournament will feature a good cross-section of water polo’s 11 zones, with all zones being represented on the boys’ side.

The boys’ tournament runs from Friday (November 12) through Sunday (November 14), while the girls tourney will go from Saturday (November 13) through Monday (November 15).

For More Information: Contact Eric Velazquez, USWP Media Director, 562.596.8286

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