Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Club

What is the role of the Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Board?

The Board oversees the administrative side of Club operations, plans and organizes fundraising events, promotes a favourable Club image, executes and is accountable for decisions impacting the continued success and future sustainability of Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Club.

What does the Registration Fee cover?

The registration fee covers the increasing cost of pool times at all locations, lifeguards, salary for 2 full-time coaches, and any other operating expenses incurred in one season (e.g. promotionalmaterial, equipment - caps, balls, etc).

What is a Travel Account?
The travel account funds you paid will be used to pay the tournament entry fees for every tournament your athlete participates in and help cover some of the cost of the National tournament. It also covers any expenses incurred such as gas, food and accommodations (if needed) by your Coach(es) for travelling with your team.

For example: Example #1 - Local Tournament

U16 and U18 families made 6 payments of $150.00 = Totalling $900.00 in your athlete’s travel account. On average, team cost for a local tournament is $750.00. Based on 10 athletes on a team, each player’s tournament entry fee is $75.00 which is deducted from your advance payment of $900.00.

Example #2 - National Tournament

On average, team cost of a national tournament is $1,400.00 per athlete based on needing to fly to Western or Eastern regions of Canada (e.g. Vancouver, British Columbia; Halifax, Nova Scotia, etc.). National tournament costs hosted in Ontario or Quebec regions are lower ($400.00-$600.00). National tournament team entry fee runs between $1600.00 to $1800.00. Based on 10 athletes on a team and National tournament team entry fee of $1600.00, each player’s tournament entry fee is $160.00. This is before we take into account that there will also be additional costs: airfare (if required), hotel accommodation, transportation (i.e. van rentals), 1-2 team building excursions (dependant on schedule), some meals and your Coach(es) travelling costs.

Example #3 If your athlete’s tournament entry fees are under $900.00 deposit, you will be refunded the difference at the conclusion of the season. Travel Account Advance = $900.00 Athlete’s total tournament entry fees for the season = $700.00 Travel Account Refund to You= $200.00 If your athlete’s tournament entry fees are over $900.00, you will be invoiced and payment is due upon receipt. Travel Account Advance = $900.00 Athlete’s total tournament entry fees for the season = $1110.00 (e.g. athlete participated in all U16 and U18 tournaments but did not participate in National tournament)

Travel Account Owing to Club = $200.00

We paid our registration fees, so why do we need to Fundraise?
Fundraising is a fun way to socialize and reconnect with fellow team-mates, families and friends, and Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Club alumni. Everyone who shows their support can feel good knowing that by fundraising or fun-raising, our Club and the sport of water polo becomes more visible in the community and is necessary to help our Club keep our registration fees as low as possible and offset rising costs. By fun-raising our dedicated Coaches can to continue providing a quality water polo program for our daughter(s) and son(s).

What is a National water polo tournament?
A National water polo tournament provides an excellent experience and opportunity for your athlete. Nationals is what our coaches and athletes aspire to train, practice and prepare for. Some examples of previous locations where National water polo tournaments have been held: Montreal, Quebec; Surrey, British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Calgary, Alberta; Halifax, Nova Scotia. Typically, the deadline for a team to register for Nationals is January of the current water polo season, where the tournament entry fee is paid in full. Coaches and teams who decide to participate in Nationals will be required to provide advance payment deposits to offset the cost of nationals (airfare, hotel, transportation, team building excursion, etc). The deposit payment for Nationals will be split between 2 to 3 payments, with the initial payment securing the athlete’s commitment to participate. Payments must be paid and cleared prior to an athlete departing on a National trip. Nationals are a unique tournament where if we cancel our registration as a team, we will be penalized with a surcharge by Water Polo Canada. Therefore, we regret that if an athlete decides he/she cannot go, the athlete will not be reimbursed the initial payment that secures their participation.

I’d like to be spectator to cheer for my child’s team. Can I go and show my support?
We do encourage parents to come out wearing their black and gold, cheering positively at local tournaments. An example of “bad hockey parent” can happen in water polo too. We encourage parents to cheer and be respectful to our Coaches, all our athletes, referees and any other officials, and to your fellow parents in the stands. As parents, you are the ambassadors of Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Club. With distance travelling, we expect that all the U16 and higher athletes room with their team at the hotel. This enhances the team building experience and athletic performance. At U14 events athletes can still room with their parents. However, sometimes parents can be a distraction to their athlete. In the instance of a National tournament, the chaperones will be the Coaches, Team Manager and possibly 1 or 2 additional parent volunteer chaperones. If other parents want to come to support the team they may be asked to stay at a separate hotel, especially if team is staying at a hotel with several other competing teams.

This is my child’s first local water polo tournament. How does it work?

Your Coach will determine whether or not your team will participate in a tournament. Once your Coach registers your team, the tournament host will determine the schedule based on the number of teams entered. After communicating with your Coach, your Team Manager will email the tournament details to you (venue, directions, etc). Please be patient - the tournament schedule is often finalized a couple of days prior to the start of the tournament. Your Team Manager will email it as soon as information is received. Should there be any schedule changes it will be shared with families by email and in person as soon as possible.

Your Team Manager will try to assist athletes who require transportation by working with families to arrange a car pool. Let your Coach and/or Team Manager know if your child cannot participate in a tournament because your Coach and your team really depend on the skills your child brings to their team.

Your child continues to train at practices, eats nutritious yummy meals and snacks, and homework is near competion or finished for the weekend. The night before, your child should ensure that their toe nails and finger nails are nicely trimmed down (and no nail polish) and that he/she gets a good night’s sleep. Leave the coaching to our resident experts - your wonderful, experienced, talented Coaches.

Whether or not your team decides to do potluck snacks in between games, it is still good measure to send your child with water and some healthy snacks to stay hydrated and energized as best they can. Parents, for healthy snack ideas please visit City of Hamilton Public Health Services website www.hamilton.ca/allstarsnacks In addition, your team may decide as a group, to do a team building breakfast/lunch/dinner at a restaurant but that’s usually determined prior to the start of the tournament.

Allow yourself ample time for departure, accounting for traffic or inclement weather. We want everyone to arrive safely. Upon arrival to the venue your child should be changed and ready-to-rock the pool 30-45 minutes (decided by your Coach) prior to the start of the scheduled first game while parents make their way to the spectator viewing area. Once all athletes are present, your Coach has a team talk with them. At the end of the talk, the athletes will start their warm-up in the water. You will see an official’s table with a time keeper (for game clock and shot clocks), score keeper, and a secretary (records scored goals and penalties), two referees at either side of the pool and pool lifeguards. Families and friends of the opposing team will also be present.

Parents, we encourage positive cheering as ambassadors of Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Club. (For details on National water polo tournament refer to What is a National water polo tournament?) For further details about the rules of water polo visit http://hamiltonwaterpolo.ca/Rules.aspx

How does Hamilton Aquatic Water Polo Club handle conflict resolution?

While rare, conflicts may occur from time to time. Steps of how conflicts will come to resolution:

Is Water Pole Similar to other sports?

Water polo is like a combination of soccer, basketball, ice hockey and rugby, played in a deep pool 30 x 20 meters. You can learn about Water Polo very quickly if you appreciate the similarities between it and the above games. However, it is the unique characteristics of the game that makes water polo so interesting.

What is so different about Water Polo

It is played in the water which makes it difficult for the referee to see exactly what is going on. Players, may use subtle pushes, and holds to improve their positions. While this may be totally foreign to most sports people, little push-offs, and pull-pasts, have been a part of water polo for so long that some instructional books exist which actually show how to get away with these moves.

How physical is Water Polo

Another interesting point is the way water polo rules distinguish between degrees of physical contact. The four rules which deal with this are; impeding; pushing, holding (sinking and pulling back), and brutality. With the exception of brutality, these rules, do not apply when an opponent is holding the ball, i.e., they can be tackled. However, impeding (which is basically swimming over someone) and pushing are considered minor ordinary fouls while to "hold, sink, or pull back an opponent not holding the ball" is considered a major foul.

Water Polo rules and tactics similar to other games

Soccer

Basketball

1. Teams must shoot at goal within a certain time after gaining possession; in water polo it is 35 seconds, in basketball it is 30 seconds.
2. There are two types of fouls; Ordinary fouls which are like violations in basketball, and are punished as minor breaches of the rules, and Major fouls which are, like personal fouls in basketball, and are punished as a temporary exclusion from the game. These are bad for the flow of the game.
3. If players get 3 major fouls awarded against them, they must be replaced, and cannot re-enter the game (in basketball it is 5 fouls).
4. The clock is stopped every time the referees whistle is blown, extending the game further than the 4 periods of 7 minutes allowed (usually about l hour).
5. In basketball, certain large players take up a position close to the basket (called the high or low posts). The function of the players is to score, or to distribute the ball to other players who will attempt to score. Water polo has an equivalent position called the center forward or "hole". This player tries to occupy a space directly in front of the goal.

Ice Hockey

1. Players are penalized if they are caught major fouling ( the only exception to this is when a penalty is awarded).
2. Players are penalized for 20 seconds or until a goal is scored or the defending team regains possession.
3. The "penalty boxes" are in the corners of the field, usually to the defending goal keeper’s right.

Rugby

1. Water polo is a physical contact sport and a player who is holding a ball may be tackled.
2. The rules Only protect players from excessive violence. However, there, is no "completion of the tackle" as in Rugby. Water Polo referees are quite strict, and many fouls are awarded in tackles because defenders must be very skilled to tackle without fouling.