Over the past year, USA Water Polo has learned to adapt to changes. At the end of July and into the beginning of August, the organization held its Junior Olympics (JO) with 2 sessions in California, hosting teams from California only, as well as a third in Texas, with teams outside of California.
Ryan Cunnane, USA Water Polo Director of Events and Sports Growth, said that since COVID-19 hit, there have been many challenges returning to practices. As with most aquatic sports, each team had a different experience. In the first steps for returning to the pool, most water polo teams began with individual drills. Equipment was not allowed to be shared, and to this day, some practice locations still do not allow equipment sharing. Due to capacity limits, less people were allowed at practices making it difficult for athletes to get time and opportunities in a pool.
COVID-19 continued its impact outside of practices and into competition, including the JO tournament. The goal for the organization each summer is to host a national championship tournament in California that is open to teams from all 50 states.
This summer, things were different. USA Water Polo did not expect to hold JO in Texas this summer. With COVID-19 restrictions still in place in California during planning, the fear was that some out of state teams would not be allowed to come to California and compete. To ensure that out of state teams could at least compete in some form, the Texas location was added. This also took a lot of uncertainty out of who could make the tournament, and allowed a guaranteed end of the season tournament for teams all across the country.
In total there were about 10,430 total athletes and 3,083 total coaches across the 3 sessions (2 in California, 1 in Texas) at the JO competitions. California had 8,119 athletes and 2,405 coaches, and Texas had 2311 athletes and 678 coaches.
During the tournament, Cunnane spoke of the California competition and said that most things were able to be run as usual. The state of California was not requiring masks for vaccinated people which allowed many parents in the stands to not have to wear a mask. Cunnane said that people in the crowd, and the competitors, were all just happy to be back competing and doing what they enjoy.
Cunnane said that some of the best parts of the JO this year was all of the smiling faces. Seeing the athlete friendships and interactions again was exciting as well. There were more thank yous from everyone and less frustration, because the athletes were just grateful to be able to compete.
See the final results of the JO competition for each age group here and the winners listed below. Winners were separated by division (PT, AU, AG, BZ). The platinum division (PT) is considered to be the National Champion (note that due to COVID-19, there was a platinum champion from California as well as outside of California). Non platinum medalists are considered medalists and champions of their division.
List of Winners for Session 1 (California teams only):
- 12U Boys Championship*: Del Mar (PT) & Poway (AU)
- 14U Boys Championship*: North Irvine Black A (PT) & Diablo Alliance Red A (AU)
- 16U Boys Championship*: Vanguard Black A (PT) & NSD Stars (AU)
- 18U Boys Championship*: CC United Black A (PT) & South Coast (AU)
- 14U Boys Classic**: CDM (AG) & PV Water Polo (BZ)
- 16U Boys Classic**: Sons of Odin (AG) & Del Mar B (BZ)
- 18U Boys Classic**: Shore Aquatics (AG) & San Francisco Warriors (BZ)
List of Winners for Session 2 (California teams only):
- 10U Girls Championship: Tustin Patriot
- 10U Coed Championship*: Tustin Patriot A (PT) & SB 805 (AU)
- 12U Girls Championship*: Newport Beach A (PT) & Royal Black (AU)
- 12U Coed Championship*: Costa Mesa (PT) & Riverside (AU)
- 14U Girls Championship*: Vanguard A (PT) & SD Shores (AU)
- 16U Girls Championship*: Set Black (PT) & Set Pink (AU)
- 18U Girls Championship*: Socal Black A (PT) & Norcal Aquatics (AU)
- 16U Girls Classic: Gold Coast
- 18U Girls Classic: SBU
List of Winners for Session 3 (non-California teams only):
- 10U Coed Championship: 1stA-Longhorn
- 12U Boys Championship: Greenwich A
- 12U Coed Championship: Pegasus
- 14U Girls Championship: Greenwich
- 14U Boys Championship*: CT Premier (PT) & Greenwich 14A (AU)
- 16U Girls Championship: Sarasota
- 16U Boys Championship*: Capital (PT) & CFWPC (AU)
- 18U Girls Championship*: Viper Pigeon Green (PT) & New Trier (AU)
- 18U Boys Championship*: CT Premier (PT) & WCAC Maverick (AU)
*PT stands for Platinum and AU for Gold
** AG stands for Silver and BZ for Bronze
It was a great opportunity for the kids to play in this year of chaos. Thank you for USA Water Polo and North Texas for offering JO’s in our great state.
The 14U Platinum Division second place team is 680 Red. Not Diablo Alliance.
Very nice article on the Water Polo JOs.
Keep the water polo info coming on SwimSwam.
With roots in Hungary, we are eager fans of any water polo coverage – and this was GREAT!
Thanks!