Irvine, CA – March 11, 2021 – USA Water Polo is excited to announce a new partnership with 6-8 Sports and their cutting edge 6-8 Challenge. The 6-8 Challenge will serve as the official standardized test of USA Water Polo; using a variety of assessments unique to water polo allowing athletes to measure, evaluate and track their skills over time. Founded by five-time Olympian Tony Azevedo and two-time Olympic champion Maggie Steffens, the duo brings years of experience and expertise to help better develop the next generation of water polo athletes.
"6-8 Sports is proud to have USA Water Polo adopt the 6-8 Challenge skill assessment as its official standardized test. We are excited to be a part of the first time that a water polo federation consistently collects detailed data over time to better track their athletes and analyze trends in growth. There is great potential in athletes across ALL states and the 6-8 Challenge will be a resource for USAWP to discover that talent and provide the opportunity to fulfill a dream. We look forward to helping USAWP grow water polo more efficiently by finally tracking the historical performance of our future Olympians and equalizing opportunity for young athletes," said Azevedo and Steffens.
"USA Water Polo is honored to support the endeavors of our current and retired Olympic and national team athletes. The technology and data driven advancements Maggie and Tony are making in developing athletes through programs like the 6-8 Challenge Skill Assessment is a game changer for the sport of water polo. It's a WIN-WIN anytime we can bring analytics into athlete development and have two of our Olympic greats be involved!" said
Nancy Atufunwa, USAWP Director of Marketing.
Athletes can
download the 6-8 Sports app from the iTunes Store (Android coming soon!). After participating in a 6-8 clinic or program that uses the Challenge (such as the
6-8 Collegiate Series) results and local/global rankings directly export to their app profiles.
Coaches and clubs can learn more about becoming a
6-8 Affiliate and getting certified to run the 6-8 Challenge with their own athletes on a consistent basis.
About 6-8 Sports
6-8 Sports was founded by 5x Olympian & Silver Medalist Tony Azevedo & 2x Olympic Gold Medalist and current Team USA Captain Maggie Steffens. 6-8's mission is to accelerate growth & exposure in developing sports through their revolutionary development system that unites standardized metrics (6-8 Challenge*), live-game tracking (via the 6-8 Sports Game Desk) & advanced data analytics. The 6-8 System is the first of its kind to unite objective data, consistent testing and innovative tech to provide a comprehensive and nuanced overall snapshot of the athlete.
About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc., is the national governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic program as well as 20 different championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 50,000 members, USAWP also is the sanctioning authority for more than 500 member clubs and more than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport throughout the U.S., fostering grass-roots expansion while providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches, and officials. For more information, visit www.usawaterpolo.org.
