Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier and National Junior Olympics Information – 2018
The Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier tournament will be June 8-10, 2018 at the Pearland ISD Natatorium in the South Houston (All Divisions). The Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier will be the qualification/seeding tournament for the USA Water Polo National Junior Olympics for the Southwest Zone. Only teams attempting to qualify for NJO’s will be allowed to enter the tournament. On the tournament information, I have included a breakdown of the entry process for teams from the Southwest Zone which intend to enter the NJO’s. Please read the two page document carefully regarding tournament eligibility requirements, deadlines, age criteria, club affiliations, age verification, etc. Some of the highlights for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier and National Junior Olympics are below.
USA Water Polo NJO’s Website: http://www.usawaterpolo.org/juniorolympics/
NJO’s Allocated Spots/Seeding: http://www.usawaterpolo.org/juniorolympics/allocations-seeding.html
Location: Pearland ISD Natatorium, 4141 Bailey Road, Pearland, TX 77584. There will be two all deep courses both 25 yards across the pool with warm-up space between the two courses.
Entry Fee: The entry fee will be $450 per team. All teams will play 4-5 games for the tournament. Make checks payable to Southwest Water Polo. Please send entry fee payments to Southwest Water Polo (for the Southwest Zone NJO Quals ONLY), c/o Joe Linehan, 2932 Chris Lane, Grapevine, TX 76051. Payments will not be accepted online for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier (mailed or brought to the tournament).
Athlete Eligibility: An athlete’s age for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier and NJO’s is determined by their age on August 1st for both boys & girls (*see exception below). Athletes MUST be Gold Members of USA Water Polo in order to be rostered for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier and the National Junior Olympics. Athletes also must complete the Age Verification online at the USA Water Polo website in order to be eligible to compete in either event. *The one exception to this rule will be for those graduating senior athletes who turn 19 before August 1st. These athletes can play in the 18U Division as long as they graduate High School in May/June 2018 (must turn in transcript to USA Water Polo and have them approve the exception).
Club Affiliation/Age Verification Deadline (NO EXCEPTIONS): Club Affiliation (coach and athletes) and Age Verification (athletes) need to be completed by Monday, June 4th at 9:00 PM (PT). This deadline is for both Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier and the National Junior Olympics. All athletes competing in the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier must have the following requirements completed by June 4th at 9:00 PM (PT) – The Roster Lockdown Deadline: Club Affiliation, Age Verification, and Current Gold Member.
Deadline for Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier Team Entries: The deadline for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier team entries is Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 9:00 PM (PT). Teams will need to enter the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier at https://webpoint.usawaterpolo.com/wp15/Events2/ViewEvt.wp?EventID=21839. Payments will not be accepted online for Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier (mailed or brought to the tournament).
Deadline for NJO Team Entries: The deadline for entry in National Junior Olympics for teams from the Southwest Zone is Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 9:00 PM (PT). Clubs/teams will need to enter NJO’s when registering for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier (will be prompted to do so after completing the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier). This will include payment for the National Junior Olympics. Your club/team must register for both events – JO Qualifier and NJO Championships – by the deadline listed as this tournament has two registrations. An incomplete registration, i.e. missing an entry from either event, will disqualify your club/team from participating this year.
- NJO’s Session #1, July 21- 24, 2018: All Boys Divisions (except for 10U Mixed)
- NJO’s Session #2, July 26-29, 2018: All Girls Division (including 10U Girls) and 10U Mixed
- National Junior Olympics Registration Information: http://www.usawaterpolo.org/juniorolympics/registration.html
Rosters for Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier: Rosters for Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier will be due Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 9:00 PM (PT). Rosters for the Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier will only be accepted via the USA Water Polo roster verification system.
Roster Lockdown for Southwest Zone NJO Qualifier: There will be a roster “Roster Lockdown Deadline” on Monday, June 4, 2018 at 9:00 PM (PT). Any roster changes made between May 24th and June 4th will incur a $100 late roster fee. No roster changes will be made after June 4th, no exceptions. Any ineligible athletes or coaches will automatically be removed from rosters on June 4th at 9:01 PM (PT).
ID Checks/Photo ID’s: The Referees will be doing ID Checks for coaches and athletes prior to each game of the tournament. All athletes need to be GOLD members of USA Water Polo. All coaches need to be registered with USA Water Polo and updated on their background check, 1st Aid/CPR, Safe Sport, etc. We recommend that all athletes download a picture with their USA Water Polo account (process takes two minutes). Team Coaches will need to supply a verified roster when doing their ID Checks (verified roster approved by tournament director). Teams will need to line up prior to their game in number order. All teams can print out team membership cards (click print membership cards at the bottom of each team’s roster). Athletes can also have individual membership cards (this takes longer than printing out team membership cards).