{"id":461380,"date":"2021-02-04T15:00:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T22:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=461380"},"modified":"2021-02-05T12:23:01","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T19:23:01","slug":"change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/","title":{"rendered":"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Restrictions on travel and public gathering due to the novel coronavirus forced the 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly\u2014typically a lively gathering of polo movers and shakers from all over America\u2014to be held virtually last Saturday. Streamed on YouTube<\/a>, with a live Zoom question and answer session, high-production values and excellent pacing the 2021 version of USAWP’s biennial meet and greet was engaging and informative.<\/p>\n

It was also a reminder of what all U.S. polo supporters crave\u2014the energy and passion of a live event.<\/p>\n

\"USAWP_Gen_Assemble_logo\"\u201cLike so many events over the past twelve months, it is one that we missed hosting in person,\u201d CEO Christopher Ramsey<\/strong> said in a post-event recap emailed to membership.<\/p>\n

In spite of no limited connections due to digital distancing, the message from assembly presenters was overwhelming upbeat\u2014no surprise as USAWP looks to emerge from one of the most challenging health events in our nation\u2019s history and get back to what the organization does best: growing water polo in America.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of our bi-annual national public assembly, USA Water Polo is in solid alignment with its tens of thousands of members, who clearly expressed what is to be our mandate – to focus on our return to play,\u201d USA Water Polo said in a statement provided to Swimming World<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our Board of Directors ratified through an overwhelming majority vote, our leadership and water polo community are working as one team to get us back into pools across the country and to see our national teams succeed in Tokyo. The best is yet to come!”<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event was noteworthy for a number of reasons, most important of which was the selection of William Smith<\/strong> as new USAWP board chair. That, the muffling of a recent drumbeat of criticism by a group of seven former players and coaches and the announcement that polo competition is back, including national JOs this summer, meant that membership was well-served in USAWP\u2019s first public event of the new year.<\/p>\n

A loyal foot soldier jumps to first in line<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The assembly\u2019s lead story was Smith’s elevation to board chair effective June 1st. To the surprise of no one, Michael Graff<\/strong>, who has spent the last 15 years leading the USAWP board, announced the unanimous elevation of his long-time collaborator, who has served as a member of the USAWP board in 12 of the past 14 years.<\/p>\n

[Bill Smith Elected as New Board Chair for USA Water Polo<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n

In what was essentially his farewell to membership\u2014though CEO Ramsey said in a recent interview<\/a> he expects that the long-time board chair will remain active with the organization\u2014Graff thanked key people who he has been involved with over his long and successful tenure with the organization.<\/p>\n

He also admonished the breakaway faction for \u201cdoing real harm\u201d to the sport by unfairly criticizing leadership\u2014something Graff, who has been exceptionally generous with both his time and financial support, said is \u201cnot right, and it should stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"graff_Kilimanjaro-2020\"

USAWP Board Chair Mike Graff. Photo Courtesy: USA Water Polo<\/p><\/div>\n

Graff said the dissenters are \u201cunwitting pawns under the influence of a major law firm\u201d\u2014a reference to Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, who have sued Ramsey, Christy Sicard<\/strong>, USAWP\u2019s Senior Director, Membership and SafeSport Compliance and the organization itself for alleged negligence related to Bahram Hojreh<\/strong>, accused of sexually abusing his players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are they dissatisfied? I really don\u2019t know,\u201d Graff\u2014who has helped transform USAWP into a financially secure and healthy organization\u2014said wistfully. \u201cI know you can\u2019t win them all, but I\u2019d like think you could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who Graff referred to are Rafael Ruano<\/strong><\/a> and a band of long-serving polo advocates who three weeks ago took the bold step of launching a petition<\/a> demanding that Graff and Ramsey\u2014as well as the entire board of directors\u2014be scrapped due to their response to allegations of sexual abuse and harassment by individuals affiliated with the organization.<\/p>\n

[A Moment of Truth at the USA Water Polo General Assembly?<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n

In years past, the general assembly would likely have offered an opportunity for dissenters to pepper the board and Ramsey with their frustrations with how USAWP handled the Hojreh situation as well as alleged instances of sexual harassment by Perry Korbakis<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year, the fundamental obstacle to dissent was format. The Q&A session\u2014where USAWP leadership takes questions submitted from the audience\u2014was both impersonal and dictated by the structure of Zoom. Whomever ran the meeting dictated the flow, or lack thereof, of information.<\/p>\n

This curtailed whatever points the protesters might have intended to present to those who participated in the virtual event. It is also uncertain how many members tuned in to the Q&A session; during the first half of the meeting, only 140 participants were listed on YouTube.<\/p>\n

The news is promising\u2014especially a return to play in the near future.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ramsey provided his CEO update, affirming that despite the devastation wrought by COVID-19, USAWP\u2019s financial health is sound. Finishing in the black this year is a major accomplishment, one which was affirmed by Scott Aubin<\/strong>, Finance Director, who pointed out that USAWP cancelled 75% of its events in 2020. Ramsey said that the organization was able to take advantage of government funding to manage shortfalls.<\/p>\n

In perhaps the day\u2019s best news\u2014from the standpoint of the organization\u2019s thousands of polo athletes\u2014was the confirmation by events manager Ryan Cunnane<\/strong> that national Junior Olympics is expected to take place this summer. The world\u2019s largest water polo tournament, last year for the first time in its four-decade history, the JOs was postponed<\/a> due to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n

\"john-mann-usa-mens-water-polo-2016-rio-olympics\"

John Mann (right) is back. Photo Courtesy: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n

The dates for the boys\u2019 session are July 17-20-25; the girls as well as 10U\/12U mixed will take place from July 22-25. This is as long as things improve with COVID-19; the biggest question mark for the country is: how will the rollout of millions of dosages of vaccine impact the virus which currently has infected 27 million and taken the lives of 464,000 Americas.<\/p>\n

A report from John Abdou<\/strong> and Brenda Villa<\/strong> regarding the Racial Equity\u00a0and Reform\u00a0Task Force put together earlier this year in response to racial unrest following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. This endeavor, which Abdou pointed out has already drawn board-directed funding, is expected to spend the next year and a half advocating for increased access to pools; as Clarke Weatherspoon<\/strong>, a task force member, said in a recent interview, the expectation is that a decade of advocacy is necessary to make a dent in discriminatory practices against people of color.<\/p>\n

[On The Record with Clarke Weatherspoon, USAWP Racial Equity & Reform Task Force Member<\/a><\/em>]<\/p>\n

Growing the USAWP Board<\/h3>\n

In specific structural changes, in addition to voting for Smith as their new leader, four current board members\u2014Laura Muller<\/strong>, Sheldon Pang<\/strong>, Walt Price<\/strong> and Alfonso Pulido<\/strong>\u2014were extended for another four years. John Mann<\/strong>, a two-time Olympian (2012, 2016), was added to the current leadership group as an athlete member. A member of the 2012 and 2016 men\u2019s Olympic teams, Mann, along with Villa, Jessica Steffens<\/strong> and Peter Varellas<\/strong>, represents a vital constituency on the USAWP board.<\/p>\n

This group not only have a direct connection to the highest level of the sport\u2014all of them have competed in multiple Olympic Games\u2014they also represent what will be a growing presence on the board, which will expand membership from its current 20 to 24.<\/p>\n

A function of the Amateur Sports Act, the expansion also mandates that athlete representation on national governing body boards to be a minimum of 33 percent, meaning that the when four new board members are selected, they will have been rostered on an Olympic Games, World Championship or Pan American Games team within the last ten years.<\/p>\n

This may be the most effective means of overcoming those individuals who have taken shots at USAWP. Their grievances may ultimately be drowned out by a new generation of board members, ones who have experienced first-hand the achievements that Graff, Ramsey and current USAWP leadership have accomplished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Restrictions on travel and public gathering due to the novel coronavirus forced the 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly\u2014typically a lively gathering of polo movers and shakers from all over<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":322901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[122077,7,12],"tags":[127249,67081,2125,48355,67879,126702,72598,46637,17765,127247,126885,60192,237,2544,127204,60073,127241,72279,127242,127248,127240,113359,60072,12046,474],"class_list":["post-461380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americas","category-usa","category-water-polo","tag-alfonso-pulido","tag-bahram-hojreh","tag-brenda-villa","tag-christopher-ramsey","tag-christy-sicard","tag-clarke-weatherspoon","tag-jessica-steffens","tag-john-abdou","tag-john-mann","tag-laura-muller","tag-michael-graff","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-olympic-games","tag-pan-american-games","tag-perry-korbakis","tag-peter-varellas","tag-raf-ruano","tag-ryan-cunnane","tag-scott-aubin","tag-sheldon-pang","tag-usa-water-polo-general-assembly","tag-usawp","tag-walt-price","tag-william-smith","tag-world-championship"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nChange is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At its general assembly last week USAWP looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to growing water polo in America.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At its general assembly last week USAWP looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to growing water polo in America.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-04T22:00:43+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-05T19:23:01+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\"},\"headline\":\"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-04T22:00:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-05T19:23:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\"},\"wordCount\":1380,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alfonso Pulido\",\"Bahram Hojreh\",\"Brenda Villa\",\"Christopher Ramsey\",\"Christy Sicard\",\"Clarke Weatherspoon\",\"Jessica Steffens\",\"John Abdou\",\"John Mann\",\"Laura Muller\",\"Michael Graff\",\"Michael Randazzo\",\"Olympic Games\",\"Pan-American Games\",\"Perry Korbakis\",\"Peter Varellas\",\"Raf Ruano\",\"Ryan Cunnane\",\"Scott Aubin\",\"Sheldon Pang\",\"USA Water Polo General Assembly\",\"USAWP\",\"Walt Price\",\"WILLIAM SMITH\",\"World Championship\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Americas\",\"USA\",\"Water Polo\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\",\"name\":\"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly - Swimming World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-04T22:00:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-05T19:23:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"At its general assembly last week USAWP looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to growing water polo in America.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\",\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Michael Randazzo\"},\"description\":\"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly - Swimming World","description":"At its general assembly last week USAWP looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to growing water polo in America.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly","og_description":"At its general assembly last week USAWP looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to growing water polo in America.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2021-02-04T22:00:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-05T19:23:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1333,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Randazzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Randazzo","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Randazzo","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb"},"headline":"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly","datePublished":"2021-02-04T22:00:43+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-05T19:23:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/"},"wordCount":1380,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg","keywords":["Alfonso Pulido","Bahram Hojreh","Brenda Villa","Christopher Ramsey","Christy Sicard","Clarke Weatherspoon","Jessica Steffens","John Abdou","John Mann","Laura Muller","Michael Graff","Michael Randazzo","Olympic Games","Pan-American Games","Perry Korbakis","Peter Varellas","Raf Ruano","Ryan Cunnane","Scott Aubin","Sheldon Pang","USA Water Polo General Assembly","USAWP","Walt Price","WILLIAM SMITH","World Championship"],"articleSection":["Americas","USA","Water Polo"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/","name":"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly - Swimming World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-02-04T22:00:43+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-05T19:23:01+00:00","description":"At its general assembly last week USAWP looks to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back to growing water polo in America.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1333,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/change-is-in-the-air-at-2021-usa-water-polo-general-assembly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Change is in the Air at 2021 USA Water Polo General Assembly"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb","name":"Michael Randazzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Michael Randazzo"},"description":"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"From the USA Water Polo General Assembly, the best polo news in a long time: Junior Olympics should be back this summer. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/laguna-wins-jos-jul18.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-1W1C","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4875"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}