An important skill in synchronized swimming and water polo, that is used by the players to keep them afloat in an upright position while performing other skills. The skill consists of alternating circular movements of the legs that produce an upward force by the water on the swimmer in order to keep the swimmer afloat in a vertical position. The legs appear to move in a circular pattern, almost like alternating circumduction of the hips accompanied by knee flexion/extension and medial to lateral rotation. The legs move in alternate circular directions during the kick- the right leg moves counterclockwise and the left leg moves clockwise 

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A MAJOR CHALLENGE: GETTING ATHLETES TO EAT THE RIGHT FOODS!

Even more difficult than training and conditioning and teaching the game to water polo players, is getting them to eat the right foods; so that they will perform at their optimal level. In today’s modern world of fast foods and a population that is over 30% obese, it is a huge challenge to get young people to eat right. A coach has to educate his players about the role that diet plays in their performance.

The coach has to convince the players that in order to perform their best, their bodies must be fueled optimally. All the hard training that a player does to prepare for competition can be wasted, if the player does not properly fuel himself. Too often athletes have misconceptions about diet that they learned from their parents. Old habits are hard to break, especially when young people have been brought up on diets in the home that are inadequate. Parents need to be educated about diet as well as the athlete. Many athletes have been brought up on a diet of junk food, either because parents don’t know any better, or it is the easy way out for them. You can talk to the athlete until you are blue in the face; but if he goes home that night for dinner, and his mother has prepared the wrong kinds of foods for him, what good does it do?

One of the responsibilities of the coach is to be the nutrition coach for your athletes. Don’t assume that they are eating correctly at home or in their school cafeteria. You need to stress nutrition as much as you stress the skills, drills and conditioning that is performed in the pool. Young athletes need adequate calories for growth, in addition to the calories required for sport. Getting calories is not the problem. Most young people get plenty of calories! Just look at the overweight young people walking around the malls and you will see that getting enough calories is not a problem. 

Getting the quality calories that help the athlete to perform at his best is the biggest challenge for the coach. The coach can start by setting an example himself. You will have difficulty getting anything across to your players if you walk around the pool deck yelling to them about getting in shape and eating the proper foods, if you are out of shape and overweight yourself. That goes for the parents too!

The coach has to teach the athlete to make the right choices when it comes to the food that they eat. Many times, both at home and on the road, the athlete can minimize the damage done by an improper diet, by choosing and alternative to what is presented at the meal. For instance, using vinegar and oil on a salad instead of gobs of creamy white dressing is one small step that an athlete can take when he has the choice. Choosing fruit instead of French fries is an example of another healthy alternative at a restaurant.

Athletes can also be taught to read labels of products that they buy at the store. The first think they must learn is that the first ingredient listed on the label is the biggest ingredient contained in that product. If the first ingredient listed is sugar, then the athlete should immediately be suspicious of that product. Food companies have clever ways of disguising what is in their product, by using vegetable or other names for sugar and fat. For instance corn syrup or fructose are just other names for sugar.
Honey is also another name for sugar, for that matter. Health food stores use honey in a lot of their dessert products, and claim that it is a health food in order to get you to buy their product. Honey is no better for you than plain white sugar. Just because you buy something in a health food store doesn’t mean that it is healthy. Health food stores are in the “money making” business just like everyone else.

The other thing that athletes should look for on the label are the calories per serving, how much is a serving, and how many of the calories come from sugar and fat. Also, what kind of fat is present in the product? In this article I will try to mention many of the things on the label to look for, or to look out for.

The key words that an athlete has to consider when making food choices are balance, variety, and moderation:

• Athletes should eat “balanced” amounts of the major nutrients ( carbohydrates, protein and fat) to provide fuel for activity, and for muscle growth, development, repair and recovery from exercise or injury.

• Athletes should consume a “variety” of foods and fluids to make eating more interesting.

• Athletes should “moderate” their intake of some high fat and high sugar foods that may effect performance and health.

An important thing to remember is that you are not going to get athletes to completely give up junk foods containing lots of fat and sugar. Why? Because they taste good! That is how food manufacturers sell food to people. Why do you think that a breakfast cereal like “sugar pops” is covered with sugar? Because it tastes good, and kids will beg their mothers to buy it until they give in. Your job is to convince the athlete that rolled oats for breakfast that is topped with strawberries and bananas, and served with low-fat milk, is much better suited for them as water polo players. Then once in a while let them have their “sugar pops” as a treat. Who knows? They may even grow to like oats and fruit better than “sugar pops”, especially when they start performing better in their games.

The same holds true for hamburgers and French fries. Much of the flavor in food is in fat. That is why burgers and fries taste so good. Unfortunately they are some of the worst foods that an athlete can eat, loaded with high calorie, saturated and cholesterol producing fats. Most young people were raised on these kinds of foods; some youngsters eat them every day. The goal of the coach is to get them to substitute more nutritious meals that will help them perform better, and limit the junk food to only once or twice per week. Complete withdrawal will never happen. Young people will eat healthier foods if they know that they can get their junk food fix a few times a week.

As we learned in the last article, a common theme to use in encouraging athletes to eat the right food, is that “a lot of protein and fat in your diet does not give you the same energy to practice and play water polo as a lot a carbohydrates do”.

HOW MUCH TO EAT?

Let’s begin by looking at the three major types of macronutrients for the body, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. As mentioned in previous nutritional articles, carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for water polo players, and should comprise a major portion of a players diet, somewhere between 55-65 percent of the total each day. The body cannot live by carbohydrates alone, however. Proteins are also needed for building and repairing muscle fibers, supplying hemoglobin, and producing enzymes and hormones. Proteins should comprise approximately 20-25 percent of the total diet. Fats are also needed for other body functions like transporting fat-soluble vitamins and helping build healthy skin and hair. Healthy fats should comprise 15-20 percent of the total diet each day.

HOW DO I KNOW I AM GETTING THE RIGHT PERCENTAGES?

Athletes are not expected to measure and analyze every portion of food before every meal to insure that they are getting the correct amount. A simple way to figure it out is to break down what you are eating into meals and snacks. An athlete like a water polo player, who trains with a lot of intensity for several hours a day, needs three full meals and at least two snack meals per day in order to get enough calories to insure high performance. If the athlete breaks down each meal into portions, each of two of the main meals should comprise two portions of carbohydrates, one portion of protein and one portion of fat. The third main meal should be two portions of carbohydrates and one portion of protein; eliminating the fat portion. The two snack meals should be mainly composed of carbohydrates, with little or no protein and fat. The result will be close to the required 60% carbohydrates, 25% protein and 15% fat.

FACTS ABOUT CARBOHYDRATES

There usually is not a problem getting enough carbohydrates in the diet. Carbohydrates are readily available, easy to prepare and affordable. Complex carbohydrates are found in bread, cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes and other starchy vegetables; while simple sugars are found in fruits, vegetables and refined sugar products. Not all carbohydrates are created equal, however.

QUALITY CARBOHYDRATES

The quality of the carbohydrates that you eat are determined by how much they are processed. Many years ago, before modern storage facilities, grains were stripped of their outer husks because that was the part of the grain that spoiled the easiest. Because of refrigeration and other methods of storage and transport, whole grains do not spoil as they once did. However, refined white grains became a habit that consumers preferred. Removing the brown outer part of wheat and rice not only removed most of the vitamins and minerals, but also removed the taste components of the grain. The result was a mass of pure white tasteless carbohydrates, that only supplied carbohydrates, but no nutrients; an essential part of any diet. In order to make the white product taste better, fat products like gravy on mashed potatoes and butter on white bread were added, making the meal even more unhealthy.

There is a saying that “you can your calories from anywhere, not so for nutrients”. You can meet your carbohydrate needs by eating bagels, plates of spaghetti, and an energy bar or two; but your health and performance would undoubtedly benefit from including whole grains such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread, whole wheat bagels and tortillas, brown rice and other products made from whole grains. “Whole” means that the outer layer of nutrients has not been stripped off the grain. Look at the label on breads and make sure that the word “whole” or “whole grain” is listed ahead of any flour.

Refined sugar is the ultimate in “empty calories”. Full of carbohydrate (simple sugar) but completely empty of any kinds of vitamins, minerals or fiber. Complex carbohydrates in grain are much better for the athlete than the refined sugar found in candy bars, snack items, desserts and soft drinks. A good rule of thumb for better nutrition is to “eat brown, not white” whenever you can. Do a taste comparison (without any toppings) between the nutty taste of brown rice and the tasteless mass of white rice, and you will never go back to white rice again.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

One of the best sources of complex carbohydrates and simple sugars are fruits and vegetables, the more colorful the better. Not only do fruits and vegetables provide lots of vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants; but also healthy fiber that aids in digestion and avoiding constipation. Fiber and anti-oxidants are only found in fruit and vegetables; not in meat and fat products. A perfectly balanced meal, that includes two portions of carbohydrates, can be met with one of the portions consisting of vegetables along with another portion of whole grains of some kind. Add veggies to a pizza instead of fatty meats, steam you veggies instead of boiling for better nutrition, and eat your veggie salads with low fat dressings instead of gobs of high fat dressing. Add a portion of low-fat or non-fat yogurt topped with fruit for dessert, instead of cookies and ice cream, and you will be getting additional carbohydrates and nutrients and nutrients at the same time.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO THE PERFECTLY NUTRITIOUS POTATO?

Potatoes are a great choice for complex carbohydrates. Yams or sweet potatoes are even better, because they also contain vitamin A. Potatoes should be baked and not fried or boiled. Deep frying in saturated and trans-fats is one of the worst things that can be done to a healthy potato. These are the absolute worst fats that a person can eat, and are the cause of many of the closed arteries that bring on heart attacks, the cause of more deaths in modern industrialized nations than any other cause. We take a perfectly healthy potato and deep fry it, adding unnecessary fat and calories.

We do the same thing to chicken and fish, all in the name of adding “taste” to what we eat. The fish fillets that you get at McDonalds and the fried chicken that you get at Colonel Sanders, are just as unhealthy as the French fries; yet chicken and fish can be healthy choices of protein if baked, grilled or broiled. There are other ways to make them taste good without deep-frying. Eating French fries once in a while is not going to hurt you if you have an otherwise healthy diet. Just don’t make them a major part of your diet. Use low-fat sour cream or yogurt on baked potatoes, instead of full fat sour cream or saturated butter. Leave the skin on the potato. It is a great source of vitamin C and fiber.

FACTS ABOUT PROTEINS

The United States is a meat eating country when compared to most other countries. We also suffer the most cardiovascular diseases than any country in the world. Since meat products are a source of protein, you very rarely see a deficiency of protein in our diet. In fact, just the opposite is true. We probably get too much protein in our diet. Several problems can occur because of this. First of all, the meat that supplies the protein in our diet is usually surrounded by fat. Usually the worst kind of saturated fat that is so unhealthy in our diet. So if you are going to eat meat as a source of protein, eat smaller amounts and eat as lean of a cut as you can find. You can trim the fat off of steaks and even buy leaner hamburger; or substitute ground turkey for ground beef, a much healthier alternative. You don’t need to eat a huge 16 oz steak to meet your protein needs. 5-7 ounces of meat and three cups of milk can supply the minimum requirement of protein for the average person for one day.

Many people have the misconception that red meat has more protein than other sources of meat. This is not true at all. Athletes such as football players have been brainwashed by coaches to think that they need to eat a huge steak before their game in order to perform better. They would be better off eating a carbohydrate rich meal that will supply the energy they need for the game. Extra protein and fat before a game do not help much in supplying energy for performance. What the steak has is more artery-clogging fat than other meat products. Other sources of protein that are just as effective as red meat, but with less fat, are chicken (remove the fatty skin), fish, eggs, beans and peas, low fat dairy products, small amounts of peanut butter and soy foods. A combination of brown rice and black beans is a great source of complete protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals, without all of the fat associated with meat products.

Another problem with eating too much protein and fat dominated meals is that they fill you up, take longer to digest, and don’t leave room in your stomach for the necessary carbohydrates that you need to supply energy for muscle contraction. Carbohydrates should be the “center of attraction” for most of the water polo player’s meal, while fats and proteins should play more of a minor role. They both are necessary for a healthy diet, but they are not needed in huge amounts and at every meal. Try to substitute other protein sources for red meat when you can. Limit your red meat to only once or twice a week, and keep the size of the portion down. Eat less Bacon, sausage, hot dogs and fatty deli meats, and more of the alternative sources of protein listed above.

FACTS ABOUT FATS

Just as all carbohydrates are not created equal, so are all fats not created equal. There is such a thing as healthy fats, the kind found in avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds, and fatty fish. There is a reason why the “Mediterranean” diet is so healthy. They eat a lot of fat from olive oil and fish, and they walk everywhere they go. You don’t see a lot of fast-food restaurants in the Mediterranean countries that are a source of a lot of the saturated and trans-fats that are very unhealthy for you. You also don’t see a lot of store-bought packaged bakery goods that use trans-fats as a preservative and for taste. In other countries, baked good are made fresh daily in a local bakery and are made for immediate consumption; not to sit on a store shelf for four weeks. The same as in carbohydrates, food manufactures try to hide their fats by using vegetable names and scientific jargon that people don’t understand. Partially-hydrogenated palm oil is one of unsuspecting names found on labels that is just another name for trans-fat. Avoid it at all costs.

Read the label and watch out for products that list these kinds of ingredients. Most labels are required to list all ingredients found in the food. If you can’t figure out what they are, look at the summary that is also on the label. It has to list number of grams of each kind of fat, number of grams of sugar or carbohydrates. and percentage of calories from fats and from carbohydrates. Becoming a label reader can save you a lot of problems with your diet in the long run.

GET A MILK MUSTACH

Some of the best foods that an athlete can eat and drink are low-fat dairy products and low-fat milk. Not only are they great sources of carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals; but also are the primary sources of Calcium. Calcium is needed by everyone to strengthen and build bones; and especially young boys and girls whose bones are still growing. Great sources of Calcium are low or non-fat yogurt and milk, low fat fruit and dairy smoothies, a slice of low fat cheese on a sandwich, and parmesan cheese sprinkled on your pasta dish. Don’t let less nutritious beverages like sodas, or flavored fruit drinks, squeeze milk out of your diet. By the way fruit-flavored fruit drinks usually contain no fruit, only artificial flavors and sugar. READ THE LABEL! 

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The draw for the Dalekovod Euro League Quarter Final Round and LEN Trophy Men Semifinals took place today in Rome. The draw, presented by LEN partner Events and Travel, was held by LEN President Nory Kruchten, together with LEN TWPC Chairman Haluk Toygarli and TWPC Secretary Manfred Vater
Several officials from the Clubs attended the draw, which resulted in the following groups in the EL Quarter Final Round:
Dalekovod Euro League Quarter Final
Group A
(1) Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO)
(2) PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) 
(3) Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB)
(4) Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE)

Group B
(1) Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO)
(2) HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO)
(3) Ferla Pro Recco (ITA)
(4) TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN)

The draw for the LEN Trophy Men Semifinals has given the following results:
Semifinal 1: Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille (FRA) Vs. R.N. Savona (ITA)
Semifinal 2: Groupama Honved Budapest (HUN) Vs. Panionios GSS Athens (GRE)

Dates as follows: 
Dalekovod Euro League
1st match 16 February 2011 
Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO) - Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE)
PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) - Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB)
Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO) - TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN)
HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) - Ferla Pro Recco (ITA)

2nd match 9 March 2011 
Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB)- Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO)
Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE) - PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE)
Ferla Pro Recco (ITA) - Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO)
TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN) - HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO)

3rd match 26 or 27 March 2011 
Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO) - PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE)
Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB) - Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE)
Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO) - HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO)
Ferla Pro Recco (ITA) - TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN)

4th match 13 April 2011 
PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) - Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO)
Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE) - Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB)
HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) - Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO)
TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN) - Ferla Pro Recco (ITA)

5th match 27 April 2011 
Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO) - Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB)
PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE) - Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE)
Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO) - Ferla Pro Recco (ITA)
HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) - TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN)

6th match 4 May 2011 
Vaterpolo Klub Budva M-tel (MNE) - Jug Croatia Osiguranje (CRO)
Partizan Raiffeisen Belgrade (SRB) - PVK Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE)
TEVA Vasas Uniqa Budapest (HUN) - Primorje Erste Banka Rijeka (CRO)
Ferla Pro Recco (ITA) - HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO)

LEN Trophy Men Semifinals - 
1st match - 16 February 2011
Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille (FRA) Vs. R.N. Savona (ITA)
Groupama Honved Budapest (HUN) Vs. Panionios GSS Athens (GRE) 

2nd match - 9 March 2011
R.N. Savona (ITA) Vs. Cercle des Nageurs de Marseille (FRA)
Panionios GSS Athens (GRE) Vs. Groupama Honved Budapest (HUN) 

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LEN_WP_eurocups_2010-11_.pdf Download this file

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The FINA Men's Water Polo World League concluded with an exclusively-European podium, with Serbia renovating with their 2007 and 2008 successes, by conquering the crown at home after defeating Montenegro 14-12. Montenegro, winner of the 2009 edition, picked up silver, while Croatia, which defeated Australia 9-7, settled for the bronze. 

Fourth and fifth places were reserved for Australia and the USA, respectively. The USA defeated Spain 7-6, which had to settle for sixth place. China won over South Africa 11-5, finishing seventh and South Africa closing the rankings.

The final between Serbia and Montenegro took place in front of an ecstatic crowd, 3,000 spectators. Both teams played a brilliant game, which ended in penalty shoot-outs, after a tied 10-10. Filip Filipovic, Vanja Udovicic, Andrija Prlainovic and Dusko Pijetlovic scored the winning shots for Serbia, despite the efforts made by Montenegro's Nikola Janovic, Vjekoslav Paskovic (successful shoot-outs) and Boris Zlokovic and Damjan Danilovic (failed attempts).     

Quarters: 1:1, 3:4, 2:2, 4:3 - 4:2
SERBIA: Slobodan SORO, Marko AVRAMOVIc, Zivko GOCIC 1, Vanja UDOVICIC 3, Boris VAPENSKI, Dusko PIJETLOVIC 2, Slobodan NIKIC, Milan ALEKSIC, Nikola RADJEN, Filip FILIPOVIC 3, Andrija PRLAINOVIC 3, Stefan MITROVIC 2, Gojko PJETLOVIC.
Coach: Dejan UDOVICIC.

MONTENEGRO: Zdravko  RADIC, Drasko BRGULJUAN, Vjekoslav PASKOVIC 1, Damjan DANILOVIC 2, Nikola VUKCEVIC, Milan TICIC 2, Mladjan JANOVIC, Nikola  JANOVIC 1, Aleksandar IVOVIC 2, Boris ZLOKOVIC 2, Vladimir GOJKOVIC 2, Predrag JOKIC, Milos SCEPANOVIC.
Coach: Petar POROBIC.

Croatia did not encounter too many difficulties in its game against Australia. The Croatian squad maintained the lead thanks to Miho Boskovic, who scored four goals.Only in the last period did Croatia lose its hold, conceding two goals to the Australians. Croatia's coach, Ratko Rudic, said it was a success for his team to be in third place. 

Quarters: 4:1, 2:1, 3:3, 0:2
CROATIA: Marko NIzIc, Damir BURIC 1, Miho BOSKOVIC 4, Niksa DOBUD, Maro JOKOVIC, Frano KARAC, Pavo MARKOVIC 1, Andro BUSLJE, Sandro SUKNO 1, Petar MUSLIM 2, Fran PACKVALIN, Paulo OBRADOVIC, Josip PAVIC.
Coach: Ratko RUDIC.

AUSTRALIA: James STANTON, Rob MAITLAND, Billy MILLER 3, Joel SWIFT, Aaron YOUNGER 2, Johnny COTTERILL, Nick O’HALLORAN. Sam MCGREGOR 1, Anthony MARTIN, Richie  CAMPBELL, Mitch BAIRD, Rhys HOWDEN 1, Joel DENNERLEY.
Coach: John FOX.

The Spanish squad started the match well, having the edge 3-1 in the first period. In the second period, USA's Ryan Bailey and Michael Sharf's winning shots tied the two teams 3–3. In the third period, USA dominated the game by 6-4. In the last period, Jesse Smith scored USA's seventh goal, and Spain's two scored goals were not enough to secure victory.

Quarters: 1:3, 2:0, 3:1, 1:2
USA: Merrill MOSES, Peter VARELLAS, Michael SHARF 1, Jeff POWERS, Adam WRIGHT, Brian ALEXANDER, Shea BUKNER, Tony AZAVEDO 1, Ryan BAILEY 1, Tim HUTTEN 2,  Jesse SMITH 2, James KRUMPHOLZ, Andy STEVENS.
Coach: Terry SCHROEDER.

SPAIN: Inaki AGULIAR, Mario GARCIA, David MARTIN, Gonazalo LOPEZ, Guillermo MOLINA 1, Marc MINGUELL 2, Ivan GALLEGO, Albert  ESPANOL, Xavi VALLES, Filipe PERRONE, Blai MALLARACH 1, Xavi GARCIA 2, Dani LOPEZ.
Coach: Rafel AGUILAR.

The game between China and South Africa concluded with a victory for the Chinese 11-5.

Quarters:6:3, 1:1, 0:0, 4:1
CHINA: Weiqing GE, Feihu TAN 2, Zhongxing LIANG 2, Lijun YU, Junliang GUO 1, Ning PAN, Yang WANG 1, Junmin XIE, Bin LI, Beming  WANG 1, Zhidang HAN 2, Nianxiung LIAND 1, Honghui WU.
Coach: Tianxiong CAI.

SOUTH AFRICA: Grant BELCHER, Devon CARD, Donn STEWART, Patrick MCCARTHY, Bevan MANSON 1, Gavin KYTE, Gareth SAMUEL 1, Ryan BELL 1, Richard DOWNES, William NAIDOO 1, Nicholas  MOLYNEUX 1, Mark SPENCER, Matt KEMP.
Coach: Brad ROWE.

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Since 2002, the world’s best water polo national teams meet in an annual season format and compete against one another in the sport’s first international league.

In 2007, FINA launched a new formula with a more standard format comprising only preliminaries and the Super Final for both men’s and women’s tournament. In the preliminaries, the competition is organised as a tournament system, two for Asia and Oceania, one for Africa, and a series of “home and away” games for Europe. A Super Final with eight qualifying teams concludes the competition, comprising one team from the Americas, two from the Asia and Oceania tournament, one from Africa and four from the European tournament.

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Following the unstable air traffic conditions and the limited possibilities for teams to move within Europe, the sixth round of games of the European groups of the 2010 FINA Men’s Water Polo World League, to take place on April 20, 2010 has been re-scheduled as follows:

-    Spain-Serbia: April 27, Pontevedra (ESP)
-    Montenegro-Italy: April 28
-    Russia-FYR Macedonia: May 4, Moscow (RUS)
-    France-Germany: June 1
-    Croatia-Greece: July 4

Only the match Romania-Turkey will take place, as planned, on April 20, 2010.  

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Corfu’ (GRE) - The Greek team of Vouliagmeni Nautical Club won the LEN Women Champions Cup for the second year in a row , defeating Kinef-Surgutneftegas Kirishi from Russia for 10-7 [2-2] [1-2] [4-2] [3-1].
The Final Four took place in the Greek Island of Corfu’ and was directed by the referees Margeta (SLO) and Borrell (ESP)

The winning Team was composed by

1    DEL SOTO Patricia
2    TSOUKALA Christina
3    MELIDONI Antiopi (cpt)
4    PANTELIDI Markella
5    LIOSI Kyriaki
6    MORAITIDOU Evangelia
7    ASIMAKI Alexandra
8    ROUMPESI Antigoni
9    GEROLYMOU Angeliki
10 PETRI Heather
11 KOUTELI Konstantina
12 LARA Georgia
13 KOUVDOU Eleni
Coach KAMMENOU Alexia
ROUPAKA Georgia
ANAGNOSTOPOULOS N

In the Bronze match, Geymonat Orizzonte Catania (ITA) won over Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) by 13 to 12 [3-2] [3-1] [2-3] [5-6]. Referees Wengenroth (SUI) and Savinovic (CRO)

The Trophy has been awarded by the LEN Vice-President Dimitri Diathessopoulos, accompanied by the LEN Water Polo Technical Committee Chairman Haluk Toygarli.

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EUROLEAGUE 2010
Just one round to go in the Men’s Water Polo Euro League Preliminaries and six places are already taken in the Quarter Finals. However, two are still up for grabs and we can expect some really tense battles for them. Montenegrin clubs rule the field: all three qualified for the quarters, and an Italian, Spanish, and Serbian representative can also wait for the draw. The remaining places should be fulfilled either by Hungarian, Russian, or Croatian teams, so a highly colourful Spring awaits the fans of the sport.
Three teams have already earned the first spot in their respective group. The two finalists of last year’s Final Four have each won their group with ease. Title holder Primorac Kotor earned three points against Jug Dubrovnik in a marvellous 24 goal encounter. Jug now have a face-off with Vasas Budapest: a draw would be enough for the Croatians at home, however, the Hungarians seem to have found the right track after losing three matches in a row, and beat Panionios of Greece 14-7, with Norbert Hosnyanszky netting 6 (he was the top scorer of the weekend).
Italy’s Pro Recco has overcome the interim difficulties and won its second consecutive away game with a commanding performance in Kazan. The Russians have to travel to Eger for a ‘life or death’ clash as the Hungarians managed to draw in the other game held in Russia, at Chehov, thanks to the return of their three time Olympic Champion goalie, Zoltan Szecsi. This was the lowest scoring game of the round with 5 goals a piece.
Partizan Belgrade also joined the party: the Serbians cruised through group D flawlessly so far, not giving a single point away. They earned their 5th victory in the home of Honved Budapest. Budva of Montenegro is also onboard after a great second and third quarter of their game against Olympiakos of Greece: these sixteen minutes saw a devastating 8-2 run of the home side which was enough to secure the win and second place.
After years of waiting, Spanish team Atletic Barceloneta returns to the best eight of Europe. They even have a chance to secure the first place: the duel with Jadran Herceg Novi of Montenegro should be the highlight of the last round. Former European dominators, Mladost Zagreb had a rather bad run in this group and was eliminated together with Vojvodina Novi Sad.

LEN Trophy
The two home sides gained multi goal advantages in the first leg, however, thinking back to the quarters where the aggregate scores were decided by a single goal in each pairings (even if the first leg saw 3-4 goal cushions) we cannot say that a Brescia vs. Cattaro final is almost sure.
However, the first game of the Italian duel seemed to be decided by half time when Brescia – led by Cristian Prescutti hitting 6 goals – was well in front (6-2). But Savona – topping the Italian Championship – managed to climb back and reserve some chance for the return game (9-6).
Joining the celebrations of Montenegrin successes in the Euro League, Cattaro also enjoyed a great game against Spandau of Germany: they build their massive lead step by step and will travel to Berling with a four goal advantage (8-4).

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The Man Inside Srdjan Miljanic, BA, MS

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Swimming and diving programs and water polo programs are closely intertwined.

Besides sharing the same pool, they also share a skill set, coaches and athletes in virtually every program that sponsors both sports.

Things are no different at North Allegheny High School where the swimming and diving team is among one of the best in the state. The water polo program is quickly catching up.

This past season the boys' and girls' water polo teams won Western Division championships and qualified for the state tournament. It was the first Western Division championship for the girls and third for the boys.

The success should not come as a total surprise. This past spring the North Allegheny swimming and diving team captured WPIAL team titles on the boys' and girls' sides. The boys also went on to win the team title at states.

In water polo the boys had to settle for fifth place in the state tournament. The girls finished eighth. With first-year coach Rob Semanchik taking over the program, a number of standout sophomores on the roster and a blossoming feeder program, the water polo program at North Allegheny has the potential to match the yearly success of the swimming and diving team.

The feeder program is the Tiger Water Polo Club and many of the starters on the boys' and girls' teams started playing the sport in the club. This past year the 14-and-under boys' team from the Tiger Water Polo Club won the state title.

"With the class we have coming up in the next few years, we should have a solid team. Being able to compete as one of the top four teams in the state, for us that would be a huge accomplishment."

Two sophomores, Zach Presto on the boys' team and Meghan Mahoney, on the girls' team, led their respective teams in scoring. Presto was named first team all-state. Mahoney was named third team all-state.

Last spring both Presto and Mahoney landed spots on the Northeast Zone Water Polo team. The team comprises players from 13 states and there are only 14 spots available on either teams.

Semanchik is a 2005 graduate of North Allegheny. The water polo program that started at the school in 2001, was in its infancy when Semanchik was a student. He later went on to Arizona State where he helped get a program started.

In his first year coaching on the high school level he was a runner-up for boys' state water polo coach of the year.

Quick results are nothing new for Semanchik. He was one of five students are Arizona State to spearhead an effort to have a water polo program started. Semanchik was a sophomore at the time. By the time he was a senior, Arizona State was finishing third at nationals. Considering the success of the swimming and diving program under coach Corky Semler, Semanchik was walking into a good situation.

"Water Polo goes hand in hand with the swimming program," Semanchik said. "The top [water polo] teams in the state also have very good swimming programs."

North Allegheny is the lone school in the WPIAL with a full-fledged water polo team. Seneca Valley and Keystone Oaks have programs in the works. That forces the players to spend a lot of time on buses traveling around Pennsylvania and out of state for tournaments. The closest water polo programs on the state level to North Allegheny are two hours to the north in Erie.

When it comes to "non-traditional" sports, North Allegheny is often a front runner among area schools. The Tigers have won 10 WPIAL titles in field hockey and 16 WPIAL titles in gymnastics, by far the most since the sports have been sanctioned by the WPIAL.

In the water, the boys finished this water polo season 17-6 and the girls went 15-9.

Senior captain Stephanie Graham was the top defender for the girls. She led the team in steals and was named second team all-state.

Other Tigers who won individual accolades on the state level were sophomore Evan Staresinic, who made second-team all-state; senior captain Elliott Baxter, who was named honorable mention all-state; and freshman Rob Clinger, who finished as runner-up for rookie of the year honors.

"We really lost a lot of talent [from last year] and we thought it was going to be tough to even qualify for states," Staresinic said. "Our coach really got things together this year and he put in a lot of work and it paid off."

North Allegheny's Zach Presto fires a shot at Cumberland Valley's Andrew Hamilton at the Tiger Classic Water Polo 2009 at North Allegheny High School.

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With a first glance apparently none since their differences are enormous. But, for the Australian Garrick Ibbotson the similarities are obvious.

The Australian rugby athlete during this year´s season has done exceptional performances with his team and this is primarily due to water polo. Ibbotson at an early age began to deal with water polo and beside the fact that rugby got his attention, residues were a significant deposit for his successful career.

What has water polo offered him?

According to the 50-year-old veteran water polo athlete, Frank Widdicombe, quick perception of what´s going on during a match but also adherence to his goal: «In water polo with the training you learn to make fast decisions. You do not have any time to lose. The athletes of rugby many times pass years in order to acquire both determination and thus there is no question that water polo gave Ibbotson this advantage ».

Garrick Ibbotson admitted that the contribution of water polo in the way that he performs as a rugby player: «Many times I was under water with rivals like at any moment may someone tackle you. The way that I used to avoid being tackled added another "element" in the way that I play».

The coach of Ibbotson´s team also uses into his training some water polo. It was easier to him teaching tactics in water so he implemented it. For Garrick he only had good stuff to say: «When I tried to teach something to the team Ibbotson understund faster than everybody. And you can realize that he is smart since he can understand when it is the right moment to attack or defend. He knows certainly how to «read» the game. He is a very good athlete »

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Events_Summary_2009.pdf Download this file

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