FAQ's
To be allowed to participate in club water polo practices and tournaments an athlete MUST have a current / valid annual USAWP membership that provides athlete with required insurance.
Bronze level is the minimal required USAWP membership acceptable for practice participation.
Gold level USAWP membership is required for JO Qualifier tournament, National Junior Olympics as well as some travel tournaments. We recommend to just annually renew the gold level membership so you do not have to worry about upgrading membership to different tournament levels.
Each athlete is required to process their "age verification" through the USAWP site. (this is done only once in lifetime)
Each athlete is required to upload a recognizable face shot photo onto their USAWP membership ID online and keep it updated as they grow.
The only way to register is online through our registration module on our website. It helps us receive all the required information from you, as well as your child can get automatically rostered to appropriate team based on their birthday and we can keep track of your payment information.
Your child’s age on August 1st determines their age group. For example - to be eligible for U12 age group the player can turn 13 on 08/01 of that year or later.
Club water polo season for all youth age groups from U10 to U18 is a year-round sport and is usually broken into quarterly seasons. It is running from August to July and culminating in participation in Junior Olympics (Nationals) at the end of July.
National Junior Olympics / JOs are the top tournament of the youth water polo annual calendar equivalent to National Championship. NJOs are being held every summer at the end of the July alternating between NorCal and SoCal locations.
Dates are published on the USAWP website and SHARKS WPC plugs them into our Team Snap App event calendar so you can plan ahead.
https://usawaterpolo.org/sports/2018/12/19/junior-olympics.aspx
National Junior Olympics Qualifier Tournament (JO Quals) is being held locally in PAC Zone every June and every team planning to participate in National Junior Olympics must participate and perform at a level to secure a qualifying spot in their age group from their zone. PAC (PACIFIC) zone is our home zone.
Dates are published on the Pacific Zone website and SHARKS WPC plugs them into our Team Snap App event calendar so you can plan ahead.
SHARKS are planning to field/register minimum a team per age group. Maximum number of players on a JOQ / JO roster is 12 players on U10 team, 14 players on U12 team and 18 players on U14 and older teams. Junior Olympics (National Championship) are the highest level tournament on our annual calendar and it is a very competitive tournament. Choosing the JO teams is a complex process. Top players plus couple of alternates per age group will be chosen based on their performance, work ethic, attendance, coachability and commitment. Prior participation in JOs, JO Qualifiers or travel tournaments does not guarantee a JO roster spot. We strive to build a balanced teams so all players can participate and contribute. That said not all players get even playing time at these two top level tournaments, although the coaches do their best to give all an opportunity to contribute.
Yes, the tournament participation comes with additional cost to cover the team registration fees and the coaches stipend. Based on the tournament and number of participating players this cost varies between approximately $40-65 per player.
Team travel / overnight tournaments participation cost is higher and varies by tournament location and length. It covers cost of the team registration fee, coaches stipend and travel expenses.
Sharks teams participate in local and travel tournaments - primarily on weekends. Please, consult your Team Snap schedule for tournaments scheduled for current quarter as well as future travel tournaments.
Local - 1-2 day tournaments are for players of all abilities and we strive to field as many teams as possible to give all players an opportunity to have fun and learn.
Travel - 2-4 day tournaments are for players that are committed to their team and to "competitive level performance". Usually top 10-15 players per team are invited to participate.
Please, keep your family calendar free for the scheduled tournament days to avoid scheduling conflicts. We do not now the game times until they are published. Even after published, in several tournaments the future game times depend on prior game results. Mostly the tournament game schedules are published approximately 1 week prior to the tournament.
Please, make sure your child's USAWP membership requirements are up to date to. Otherwise any delinquency can result in your child's eligibility to participate.
SHARKS WPC – Players seeking to practice and participate in competition with another club are NOT permitted to do so.
SHARKS Water Polo Club has always encouraged and always will encourage young athletes wanting to better themselves.
On top of recommending 100% participation in SHARKS WPC practices, additional participation in our club clinics, scrimmages, local and travel tournaments is highly recommended.
Players seeking further challenge are encouraged to participate in any other water polo camps & clinics held by colleges, water polo professionals or other clubs (provided that participation for out of club players is allowed by them and that this clinic does not conflict with regular SHARKS practice).
In fairness to all players registered for a SHARKS session, SHARKS WPC does not allow participation of athletes with another club affiliation in their quarterly sessions [as our pool time and space is limited with the exception of occasional clinics or camps].
It is recommended to order all needed team gear at the time of registration, as team gear is available for purchase as part of our quarterly registration module. If you need additional team gear after registered, please contact the club directly via email and list the choice of team gear and size.