Because they own Cal Cup and want to support their own endeavor. The same thing happens up north with Diablo.
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Curious which zone you officiate in?
I agree with many of the points made on this thread. Adding/emphasizing a few more:
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Invest in quality game equipment. Several competition goals had old rough netting that sliced up goalie hands + gaping holes in nets - impacting the quality of play. Athletes competing at the highest youth level deserve properly maintained equipment in every pool.
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Provide high-quality live streaming for all games. USAWP should absolutely invest in the technology + infrastructure needed to livestream every match. This would significantly enhance the experience for people unable to attend, increase the sport’s visibility, create coaching and athlete development opportunities through game film. (not to mention, also a meaningful revenue opportunity for USAWP)
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Implement + enforce a Parent Code of Conduct. Establish clear expectations for spectator behavior + consistently enforce them. This should include prohibiting actions such as:
- Bleacher stomping - it’s grossly obnoxious (
San Clemente parents, yikes) - Excessive cheering when the outcome is no longer competitive. They are KIDS.
- Oversized signs, banners or displays that obstruct views or distract from the competition
- Bleacher slothing. When a game concludes, quickly move off the bleachers to make room for others. Games rotate fast.
The focus should remain on creating a respectful, sportsmanlike environment that reflects positively on the athletes and the sport.
- Bleacher stomping - it’s grossly obnoxious (
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Improve facility maintenance. Ensure host venues receive regular attention throughout each day by cleaning restrooms frequently and keeping essentials such as toilet paper and paper towels fully stocked. A national championship event should consistently reflect a high standard of cleanliness and organization.
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Improved tournament time management. A 1+ hour game delay on day 1 is absurd.
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Love the rubber/fabric wrist band idea vs the uncomfortable permanent plastic option
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Require referees to have prior competitive water polo playing experience at some point in their lives…
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re: 2027/NorCal/Stanford raising fees 3x
- not shocked by that. Perhaps USAWP approaches UC Berkeley?
4 Likes
In 2028 - do everything possible to have the championship day of JOs in the Olympic pool. Change whatever tentative schedule currently being worked with to make that possible.
The set up this year at Woollett was really nice for spectators and athletes. In the future USAWP should take every opportunity possible to piggy-back on USA swimming events.
Using the Olympic pool for WP in 2028 would be memorable for everyone in USAWP. (Asking for the SoFi pool might be a step too far)
Bleacher slothing was encouraged by medal ceremony. There was no other way to view.
Find a way to screen officials for objectivity.
Let’s get officials for 18u’s that aren’t “star struck” by some of the top up and coming players…I can’t believe some of the stuff a big name player I watched 2x got away with. Reminded me of NBA or NFL officiating where certain stars receive preferential treatment. It was egregious and it cost a couple of good teams a chance to make the finals.
There are other biases in the officiating, as well, in other age groups (North v South) that have always been an issue.
3 Likes
Reminds me of when Sean McVay was starstruck by Bill Belichick in the 2019 Super Bowl
1 Like
Lots of griping about allocations, which happens every year. So wanted to highlight some smaller or non California clubs that did well. For a lot of these teams making platinum is a lofty goal and not having year round comp is hard. Besides Greenwich as we all know the powerhouse they’ve built.
10U Coed: Lyons / Elmhurst (IL) 5th in Platinum, not sure I’ve seen a Midwest team this high ever
Lake Oswego (OR) 19, Chicago Parks District (IL) 21
10u boys: Northwest (WA) 21st in platinum
16U boys: Thunder (TX) 13th in Platinum, Longhorn (TX) 21st in platinum
14u Girls: Thunder (TX) 13th in platinum, Honolulu A, 18th in platinum
10 Likes
I think the complaint comes when SPA winds up dominating Classic. 12U boys Classic SPA took 1st 2nd and 3rd again (at least 2 years running). Those teams normally compete in Gold or lower level Platinum. I guess if getting a medal is the goal the SPA teams that miss out on Champs are almost guaranteed to blow out every team and get a medal.
Those non-CA teams that did well are awesome inspirations and those areas should keep fighting up with their good seeds for next year!!
With the 2028 Olympics being the last two weeks of July, and what it looks like 2028 JOs being held in early July, I sure hope the plan is to try to use the Olympic waterpolo venue, (that will be built in Long Beach), for some of the JOs games.
What a great experience for the players, and a good test event for the organizers.
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Kudos to the Dons B Team for choosing the tougher path - prioritizing competitive, high-level play in the Championship Bracket over an easy medal in the Classic Bracket (especially for a newly formed club who I’m sure would love to have brought home hardware)
Dons is not a newly formed club. They just changed the name.
The plan for JO '28 is Northern California because all the facilities will be in use in SoCal. Don’t know if that plan will hold, but that’s the case at the moment.
It is a lot easier to qualify down south than it is in SPA.
I have to disagree with you on this one. At least for boys, PSW is the hardest zone to qualify in.
At 10uB, the bottom PSW qualifier finished 17th while the bottom SPA qualifier finished 24th.
At 12uB, the bottom PSW qualifier finished 17th while the bottom SPA qualifier finished 21st.
At 16uB, the bottom PSW qualifier finished 16th while the bottom SPA qualifier finished 18th.
At 18uB, the bottom PSW qualifier finished 7th while the bottom SPA qualifier finished 23rd.
It was only at 14uB this year that the bottom SPA qualifier finished higher than the bottom PSW qualifier. PSW is the smallest zone, by population, in the United States. The competition in PSW for their few JO Championship allotments is fierce.
Fair enough. I stand corrected. It is not easy to qualify for Championships.
Marco,
To answer the question (is it harder to qualify to the Championship from PSW or from SPA) it might make more sense to compare the performances of the first teams left out or the highest finishes from PSW and SPA in the Classic. The picture could be slightly different ( I did not check) since PSW is a top heavy zone.
I’m not ad ingrained across all levels but the first team out of PSW at my son’s age group (14U-2024, 16U - ‘25 & ‘26) has won gold, gold and bronze in Championship and had a winning record versus teams that placed 12-24 in platinum during Super Finals and other tournaments.
It gets even tighter for 18U in PSW where boys only get 3 Championship spots. Anecdotal info and by no means do I think they’d be fighting for a medal in platinum but they definitely would have been fighting for a top 24 finish.
PSW’s championship teams finished 1/6/7.
PSW’s next two teams (4th and 5th in quals) ended up 8/9 in Classic.
SPA’s Classic teams finished 6/10, with CST and PAC filling 1/2/5/7 and 3/4, respectively.
| ag_Place | |
|---|---|
| 1st | W192-LB SHORE |
| 2nd | L192-SUPREME |
| 3rd | W191-SAN JOSE EXPRESS BLUE |
| 4th | L191-SANTA CRUZ |
| 5th | W186-TSUNAMI |
| 6th | L186-SET |
| 7th | W185-SOUTH COAST RED |
| 8th | L185-SD SHORES GOLD |
| 9th | W182-CARLSBAD |
| 10th | L182-CHAWP WHITE |
OK,
I have had sone time to look at the JO 2026 boys results and compare PSW and SPA qualifiers. The conclusion is pretty straightforward. The first few SPA teams that miss on Championship and end up in Classic are stronger than the first PSW team that misses on Championship and ends up in Classic.
In 12u boys the top 8 finishers in Classic are:
Mission B, Patriot B, South Coast Red, Los Alamitos, OCWPC, CCU B, Carlsbad B, and CHAWP. Thus, the first four SPA teams that miss on Championship ended up higher than the first PSW team.
In 14u boys, the top six finishers in Classic are: Tsunami, OCWPC Blue, Mission B, Route 66, ORWP B, and SD Dons Black, so again the top four SPA teams in Classic finished higher than the best PSW team in Classic.
In 18u boys, the top eight finishers are: LB Shore, Supreme, SJX Blue, Santa Cruz, Tsunami, SET, South Coast, and SD Shores Gold. The top three SPA finishers in Classic were better that the best PSW Classic team.
And only in 16u the situation is not that lopsided. The top six finishers are: CHAWP White, South Coast Red, Carlsbad, ECA A, San Clemente, and NorCal.
Still, the best SPA team finished higher than the best PSW team.
The conclusion is that PSW teams that miss on Championship would have definitely missed if had they tried to qualify through SPA.
As I wrote earlier, PSW is an excellent zone with great talent but it is top heavy and not very deep.
P.S. To put it another way, if one can add just one SPA or PSW team in the Championship bracket for 12u/14u/16u/18u, the choice would be always a SPA team. If one could place two additional teams from SPA/ PSW in each of the 12u, 14u, 16u, and 18u Championship brackets, the split of the additional allocations would be 7-1 in favor of SPA. If one could put three additional teams from SPA or PSW in each of the age brackets, the split would be 10-2 in favor of SPA. And in the most unrealistic scenario when one puts four additional teams in each of the age brackets the split should be 13-3 in favor of SPA.
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