1. Sign up for online referee courses at www.waterpoloacademy.com and take the Beginning Referee Course #1
2. Â Register with USWP as a referee
3. When you pass the test, contact Jeff Roy at jroy2845@aol.com, to set up a meeting for an ondeck evaluation
It’s very easy!!
Here are some important summer dates and what we know about the workout schedule. As more information becomes available we will post it.
The Pacific Zone Youth and Junior Team tryouts for this weekend have been canceled. When they are re-scheduled, we will post information on this site.
As the fall age group and high school seasons come to a close, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and pass along some information about upcoming events.
AGE GROUP/JUNIOR POLO
The Fall was the most successful in years. We had over 35 in the Age Group program, competed well on the weekends including winning the quals and competed at the Speedo Cup National Championships in Ann Arbor, MI, placing 6th. Our Jr Polo program grew and had 13 girls playing ages 8-11 yr old. This was our biggest Jr Polo group to date and plan to keep growing.
HIGH SCHOOL SEASON
Tomorrow (Sat, 11/22) afternoon, the CCS Championship games will be contested. For the first time ever the games will be played here at Stanford, in the Avery Stadium Pool. Because all eight teams represent schools within a few miles of campus, and because the vast majority of club players competing are members of the Stanford Water Polo Club, I expect great atmosphere. It will be a fitting culmination of a terrific fall for all our high school athletes. Come on by and cheer on all eight teams and celebrate the event here at Avery Aquatic Center, “the greatest water polo venue in the world.” (Greg McFadden, Australian Olympic Coach, after Blastoff to Beijing).
WINTER POLO
Be patient- you won’t have to wait much longer to be back in the pool with Stanford Water Polo Club. On Monday, December 1, at 7:00pm, in Kissick Auditorium, we will hold our pre-winter polo meeting. Workouts will begin the following evening! Please scroll down the site for all the winter polo info. The late fee applies to registrations not post marked by Monday, Nov 24th.
JUNIOR OLYMPICS 2009
As part of our dream of making Stanford and this area the center of the water polo universe, our club has hosted some of the most acclaimed water polo events ever held. This year we have sought out the bid to host the 2009 USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. JO’s is the largest water polo event in the country and one of the biggest in the world, a wonderful showcase for our sport. Last week we finalized many of the hosting details, allowing us to publicize the fact that we (the girls and boys program) will in fact be the hosts of the 2009 USAWP Junior Olympics. Many of the key games will be played here at Stanford, which will be the centerpiece of the competition.
It is our intention that these be the greatest JO’s ever, and we will need your support to fulfill that lofty goal. We’ll have information for you at the club meeting on December 1st.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night for all the excitement of CCS Finals and again on December 1st for our club winter season meeting.
Girls get 6th at Speedo Cup. Congratulations to Kyle and the team for a great Fall Season.   
Congratulations to our girls on a great effort yesterday by beating both 680 Drivers (9-0) and Diablo (7-4). Speedo Cup is USA Water Polo’s National Championship for the Fall. We are excited to be representing our zone for the 11th time in 12 years.
Kyle, Kelsey and Jenna have done a great job with the entire group this Fall, highlighted by beating Diablo after losing to them the first two Fall League weekends. The improvements by everyone have been remarkable and the girls should be very proud of their development. Keep up the hard work.
The next Fall League is Sunday, Oct 19. Most likely the games will be at Doughtery Valley HS. We will post the shedule when we are notified of the game time.
Jr Polo has their second Intra-club competition Sat, Sept 27, from 9-11 am at Roble Pool. The first one was great and hope to see even more girls there this Sat.
Age Group has their second weekend of the Fall League on Sunday the 28th. All games will be at Paly. The schedule and teams will be posted Wednesday.  We will need lots of parents to help run the desk. I am attaching a sheet with guidelines on how to do stats, game clock and shot clock.
Desk and Clock Instructions
Villa Leads Water Polo Team Past Australia
Stanford’s Brenda Villa scored three goals, including the game winner, to lead the USA Women’s Water Polo team to a 9-8 victory over Australia and a berth in the Olympic final. Team USA will look to add a gold medal to its collection of silver (2000) and bronze (2004) when it takes on the Netherlands, winners over Hungary in the other semifinal.
The Gold Medal Game opening sprint is scheduled for 3:20am Thursday.
It will be broadcast live online at nbcolympics.com. Check NBC listings for possible broadcast on MSNBC and/or USA. The game will also be played during NBC’s 11:00am-2:00pm coverage.
If you or anyone you know is interested in improving your water polo skills or learning about the sport, we are offering two water polo clinics for girls age 8 to 8th grade. Clinic dates and times:
Wednesday, August 20 4:30-7:00pm Avery Aquatic Center @ Stanford
Saturday, August 23 8:30-11:00am Avery Aquatic Center @ Stanford
Fee: $50 7th-8th grade, $35 8 years old-6th grade No need to advance register- just come to Avery Aquatic Center
USA-Australia to meet again in women’s water poloJust 40 days after their last matchup, the record setting “Blastoff to Beijing” game at Stanford on July 10th, the USA and Australia Olympic Women’s Water Polo Teams will square off in the Olympic semifinals.
The two powerhouses of the sport will meet Tuesday, August 19, at 2:20pm Beijing time (11:20pm Monday night, PDT). In the “Blastoff to Beijing” contest, Stanford alum and USA captain Brenda Villa tallied three goals to lead Team USA to a 7-5 victory, in front of 2,967 spectators at Avery Aquatic Center, the largest ever for a women’s water polo match on US soil and the final game for each team before the Olympic Games.
In Beijing, the two teams took similar paths, both tying for first in their respective brackets while posting two wins and a tie. But while the Americans came out on top in their tie breaker and got a bye to the semi’s, the Aussies lost out to Hungary and had to play China in Sunday’s quarterfinal. The host country’s feisty squad put up a battle, but the Australians hung on to secure a 12-11 victory and stamp their ticket to the final four and a rematch of the “Blastoff to Beijing.”
This time there will be far more at stake.
We are offering 2 clinics at Stanford for all girls who are going into their 8th grade year, or younger.
Aug 20, Wed    4:30-7:00 PM
Aug 23, Sat       9:00-11:30 AM
          Cost per clinic : $50 (7th & 8th grader)   $35 (6th grade/younger)
With the Olympics starting and water polo on TV, we hope that more girls will be interested in trying it out, and those that already play would be interested in a clinic.  Beginners through advanced players are welcome. Â