Water Polo Seeks to Grow Sport Through Beach Tournaments

(ATR) United States Olympian Maggie Steffens said she jumped into an impromptu beach water polo game on a recent holiday in Croatia. The double Olympic gold medalist says she would like to see more of and compete in recognized beach tournaments.

"It exposed the sport in a fun way – I call it backyard ball and I think that is something that we don’t have," Steffens said about the friendly Croatian match. "We ended up playing in the sea for two hours.

"Beach water polo captures the essence of being a kid and just loving the sport.

"If we have beach tournaments and my father and family are trying to incorporate that in Puerto Rico and talked about trying to do it in the Caribbean – maybe we should just go for it – sign me up."

The female water polo star made her comments at this week's International Aquatics Federation World Water Polo Conference in Budapest, a summit attended by 224 delegates from 107 countries from five continents.

FINA conducted a lengthy session devoted to growing beach water polo on Saturday morning.

"Beach water polo is a perfect example of sport mixed with beach culture," said FINA technical water polo committee member Andy Hoepelman. "It is fun to watch, fun to play, easy to organize and appealing to all generations. It will stimulate and promote water polo all over the world."

Numerous delegates expressed a strong desire to see FINA stage beach water polo at the inaugural World Beach Games in San Diego in 2019 and future editions.

Aquatics executive director Cornel Marculescu advised it is a target for FINA, although rules and format still need to be clarified.

Expanding Water Polo’s Global Footprint

Showcasing the geographic diversity at the World Water Polo Conference in Budapest, representatives from Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Ghana posed questions and asked for guidance as they strive to develop water polo at home.

With sufficient funding being one of the biggest hurdles, Barbados national head coach Ryan Forde commended FINA for its International Development Program which was launched in 2017 to expand the game into new territories.

"There is no one size fits all – I think we need a model for all countries," Forde said. "It is inspiring to see this developing commission and commitment from FINA at the highest level."

Officials from five continents spoke about how to expand the sport’s global footprint during a lively round table session.

"We need to grow up with huge, bigger numbers and I think this is what the IOC wants," said Italian Paolo Barelli. "We know how important it is for water polo to stay in the top ranking of the Olympic Games.

"We need the water polo brand as soon as possible on other continents."

Homepage photo: ATR

Written and reported by Brian Pinelliin Budapest

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