USAWP Texas Development: Upcoming Town Hall Meetings, Tournament/League Hosts, and Other Announcements!!!

With the upcoming start of the Texas High School Water Polo Season and the Spring USA Water Polo Club Season, USAWP Texas Development will be hosting a series of “Town Hall Meetings” in Austin/San Antonio, the Houston Area, and in North Texas. The first of the USAWP Town Hall Meetings will be in the Austin/San Antonio area on Saturday, February 23rd at the UT Swim Center Classroom. The Houston area Town Hall Meeting will be Sunday, April 7th in Pearland and the North Texas Town Hall Meeting will be Sunday, April 14th in Southlake (details to be announced later). All are welcome and encouraged to attend…parents, coaches, athletes, referees, etc.

Below are additional USAWP Texas Development Announcements:

USA Water Polo Coaching Manual (click here): The USA Water Polo Coaching Manual is the most comprehensive coaching document online regarding drills, skills, online links, etc.

USAWP Summit Videos Now Available (click here): Videos from the recently completed USA Water Polo Development Summit are now available. Once at the website, there will be instructions on how to access the videos from the discussions and presentations at the USAWP Development Summit on January 26-27, 2019. These videos are an excellent source of material for water polo coaches, athletes and referees on a variety of topics in our sport.

Tournament/League Hosting Outlines & Online Rosters: Attached are SWZ Hosting Outlines for USAWP sanctioned Weekend Tournaments and Local League Game Days. Hosts need be sure to communicate event information to clubs and to let their local Referee Leadership know the specifics of their event ASAP. Additionally, hosts need to make sure teams enter their rosters online via the USAWP online roster verification system prior to the start of the event. Club Admins have access to monitor roster entries through the USA Water Polo website. Lastly, tournament hosts need to email the SWZ Chair the official results/standings as soon as possible after a sanctioned USAWP event (for Connor Cup points, posting scores online, etc.).

USAWP Memberships & Online Rosters: Please make sure your athletes are USAWP prior to playing in any sanctioned USAWP event. NJO allocated slots for each zone are determined by the previous year’s membership numbers. Additionally, registering your athletes allows these athletes to be properly rostered for sanctioned leagues/weekend tournaments. Clubs that do not enter their team rosters online for Weekend Tournaments will not earn Connor Cup points for that event. Lastly, athletes/coaches/referees/clubs should be renewing their memberships as there are league game days/weekend tournaments coming up very quickly this Spring Season.

ID Checks/Photo ID’s: The Referees will be doing ID Checks for coaches/athletes at all USAWP sanctioned events. Coaches/Club Admins need to be prepared for ID Checks. All athletes need to be Bronze, Silver, or Gold members of USA Water Polo (or Shieldy, Young Adult Memberships). 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). Teams are responsible for providing their own verified team rosters when doing roster checks. 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 final roster).

Southwest Zone Events – Bid Deadlines: If your club would like to co-host one of the SWZ tournaments, please return a completed Southwest Zone Events Bid Packet to joelinehan@usawaterpolo.org by Monday, February 18th for the TAGS Water Polo Champs and by Monday, March 4th for the SWZ NJO Quals. Please be sure to complete separate bids for each event. The tournament locations will be approved by the Southwest Zone Chair/Board and be announced within one week of the bid deadlines.

Southwest Zone Calendar & Club Contacts: Google Docs/Sheets for the Southwest Zone Calendar & Club Contacts has been created which will be updated continuously (no longer sending documents to everyone). The Southwest Zone – Club Contacts is tabbed at the bottom for each region and Collegiate Club teams (Coaches, Club Admins, and USAWP/Southwest Zone Positions). If there are changes or additions that need to be made to the calendar or contact list, please email joelinehan@usawaterpolo.org.

• Southwest Zone Calendar – 2019: For the online Google Doc Southwest Zone Calendar – 2019, please click here.
• Southwest Zone – Club Contacts: For the online Google Doc Southwest Zone – Club Contacts, please click here.

SWZ Outline – League Administration & League Game Day Hosting SWZ Outline – Hosting Weekend Tournaments Austin-San Antonio Area – USA Water Polo Town Hall Meeting – 2019