LOS ALAMITOS, California, June 27. SIX of the top National Teams in the World will face off in the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) Water Polo World League Semifinals at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos, Calif., in July. The FINA World League Series is a cash-prize, round robin tournament series including 16 national teams from countries around the world. The women’s semifinals will be held on July 12-16 and the men’s will take place on July 19-23.
The 16 teams are broken down into four groups (A,B,C,D) of four based on geographic location and team rankings from the 2005 FINA World Championships. Team USA is thrown in the mix with Brazil, Canada and Venezuela as Group B.
Women’s Group Breakdown
Group A: Australia, New Zealand, China
Group B: USA, Brazil, Canada
Group C: Germany, Greece, Spain, Netherlands
Group D: Russia, Italy, France
Men’s Group Breakdown
Group A: Australia, China, France, Japan
Group B: USA, Brazil, Canada, Venezuela
Group C: Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Russia, Spain
Group D: Germany, Greece, Romania, Italy
The preliminary round for Group B will be held in Victoria, Canada on July 7-9 for the men and in Quebec City, Canada for the women. The additional three Groups for men and women will also play in preliminary rounds within their countries’ region. Following the preliminary rounds, the top three teams from Group A and Group B will meet up in Los Alamitos for the FINA World League Semifinals. Simultaneously, the top three teams from Group C and Group D will meet to play in Spain (men) and Kirishi, Russia (women).
Following the two semifinal rounds, the top three teams from each semifinal qualify for the FINA World League Super Final. The women’s will be held in Bari, Italy on July 26-30 and the men’s will follow in Athens, Greece on August 2-6. In last year’s competition, the USA Women finished fifth at the Super Final in Kirishi, Russia. The U.S. Men’s Team did not qualify for the Super Final in 2005.
Women’s FINA World League Semifinal Schedule
July 12
5:45 PM Australia vs. Brazil
7:15 PM Canada vs. New Zealand
8:45 PM Opening Ceremony
9:00 PM USA vs. China
July 13
5:45 PM Australia vs. New Zealand
7:15 PM Canada vs. China
8:45 PM USA vs. Brazil
July 14
5:45 PM Canada vs. Australia
7:15 PM Brazil vs. China
8:45 PM USA vs. New Zealand
July 15
3:30 PM Australia vs. China
5:00 PM New Zealand vs. Brazil
6:30 PM USA vs. Canada
July 16
12:00 PM New Zealand vs. China
1:30 PM Canada vs. Brazil
3:00 PM USA vs. Australia