Dear Member,

Below is a detailed explanation of two major changes that impact you and your club and are further explained in the revised "Conduct of Championships," which is the official document of USA Water Polo that governs the ways Zone Qualification Tournaments and National Championships are operated:

First, from now on your age for USA Water Polo Zone Qualification Tournaments and National Championship events will be determined by your age on the first day of  the respective National Championship Finals competition, not the year you were born as in years past.  For clarification, this date is the actual National Championship Finals competition, not the qualification competition. (example: Boys competing at the 2010 S&R Sport Junior Olympics in an 14U division will need to be 14 on July 31, 2010, similarly, Girls competing at the 2010 S&R Sport Junior Olympics in an 14U division will need to be 14 on August 5, 2010). This will allow players with formerly "bad birthdays" to complete in the lower age divisions longer if they and their clubs choose to do so.  For example, a player who turns 19 (born in 1991) in October, 2010 will be eligible to play Junior Olympics at the 18 year old age group.  

This change applies to all age groups.  USA Water Polo official roster verification systems will reflect these changes for all 2010 Zone Qualification Tournaments and National Championship events.  Please note that clubs that sanction tournaments through USA Water Polo are free to establish age eligibility as they desire.  However, for Olympic Development Programs and FINA International Competitions, the "born in year" age grouping remains the same

Second, the date to affiliate yourself with your single club of choice is being moved to the end of May for virtually all members (some exceptions apply—review the CoC for details).  Club release forms will no longer be used. The affiliation process will remain open until the specified cutoff date, which is tied to respective regional zone qualification tournaments.  Specific information on the cutoff date and regional anomalies will be clearly publicized by your zone.  

Last year, USA Water Polo tightened its procedures to encourage uniform club affiliation for national championship events such as the S&R Sport National Junior Olympics and Speedo Cup Nationals.  The purpose behind these changes was to strengthen our clubs through long-term member association and discourage "club hopping" for short-term competitive gain.

These changes have been unanimously approved by our Zone leadership on behalf of our members.  USA Water Polo has posted the updated Conduct of Championships on our website, and we encourage everyone to review the revised rules.  For your convenience, all items that have been changed from the 2008 Conduct of Championships have been highlighted.  The revised document can be accessed by clicking here or visiting the "Events" page at www.usawaterpolo.org.

We trust that you will find these refinements an improvement to our program of national championship events.

With best wishes for a great year of competition,

Scott Tanner
Director, Sport Development