Wow. I don’t know why I’m surprised based on my experiences with CIF, but that’s just hugely disappointing. If you don’t have the numbers don’t put them, but don’t just make it up.
Doesn’t matter, just make them up to sound good, right?
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Are there any numbers from Texas making polo varsity?
I wish I could say I am shocked by this….but I am not. @USAPolo would you happen to have numbers that reflect what you are seeing in the club participation? Maybe we could back into the HS numbers and determine if the actual cliff is that drastic as being reported.
The next issue I would be concerned about is Sections using this as a roadmap for providing funding support to sports.
I’m assuming when you say Sections, you’re referring to CIF…as in: CIF-SS. I do not think CIF provides funding to any sports. They actually collect funds from sports…
CIF’s Funding Model
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No State or Federal Funding: CIF operates independently and does not receive regular state or federal funding as part of its annual budget.The Times of India+15aart.assembly.ca.gov+15aart.assembly.ca.gov+15
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Primary Revenue Sources:
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State championship game receipts (around 36%)
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Corporate sponsorships and marketing (about 35%)
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Membership dues from schools (approximately 18%)aart.assembly.ca.gov+2aedn.assembly.ca.gov+2
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So, CIF’s operations—including governance, setting rules, training programs, and administering championships—are funded through these internally generated sources rather than governmental appropriations.
I might be misunderstanding the next issue you would be concerned about.
| #of Pac Zone Entries | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10u Boys | 13 | 13.0 | |||
| 10u girls | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7 | 3 | |
| 10u mixed | 19.0 | 22.0 | 9 | 10.0 | |
| 12u Mixed | 8 | 7.0 | |||
| 12u boys | 23.0 | 22.0 | 24 | 25.0 | |
| 12u girls | 15.0 | 15.0 | 14 | 13.0 | |
| 14u boys | 30.0 | 30.0 | 33 | 31.0 | |
| 14u girls | 19.0 | 21.0 | 22 | 17.0 | |
| 16u boys | 30.0 | 37.0 | 39.0 | 34 | 32.0 |
| 16u girls | 17.0 | 24.0 | 28.0 | 27 | 24.0 |
| 18u boys | 20.0 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 24 | 22.0 |
| 18u girls | 15.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 15 | 18.0 |
It is really sad because especially in girls water polo, numbers are dropping significantly. A lot of teams cannot field jv teams anymore. Some coaches blame flag football for this but I just wonder what we can do to make girls water polo rise again.
For girls it’s a tough sport yo be in. Going to school with your hair all jacked up and funky tan lines is not what girls prefer. Getting into a pool at 6 am for swim conditioning and then rinsing off and going to class at 7:30, still somewhat smelling like chlorine is not easy in these days of Tik Tok and IG.
My daughters were/are still lucky enough to play a sport we love and for great programs, with long history of success. However, all their friends, outside of WP, thought they were crazy doing what they needed to do. And their friends played sports, so they were not couch potatoes.
For the sport to succeed, it take strong grass roots effort by parents that love the sport.
Couple examples,
A friend of mine moved into Laguna Beach a few year back, and on the day he was moving in, a couple neighbors came to introduce themselves, and after a while they told him, “hey, get your kids in waterpolo, we have a great program here.” The whole town rallied around their WP program.
#2, When we moved to Tustin, everybody learned to swim at Blue Boy swim school. Right there, they would start talking to you about “hey get your girls into waterloo , great spot” . You would go to ‘movies at the park’ at nights, and people wore SOCAL waterpolo parkas. You went to Tiller Days Festival, and kids were running around wearing SOCAL t shirts, and SOCAL had a booth there, promoting.
These are just my two examples I was exposed to, but it’s a grass roots effort. Kids want to do the ‘cool’ sport. We have a very cool sport, and we all have to just push it into peoples minds, and not just talk about .
That old saying that says that ‘people who talk about going on a diet, never end up going on a diet, but the only ones that do, are the ones that never talk about it.
Same here, you want to promote the sport, quit talking and start doing something about it
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