Entries into JOs may not be an exact proxy for water polo participation. Rising costs and the economic environment may also be a deterrent to spend four days in SoCal. Maybe Session III is a banger? Is Texas cheaper? Certainly USAWP has the exact number of currently active members. Regardless, you never want to see declining numbers.
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This is true, there are a number of teams that havenât entered JO.
In 2021, USAWP said that more than 65% of the members live in California:
If that is still relatively accurate, that would mean 31 of 48 spots. Common sense will tell us that California represents and even larger percentage of the younger age groups and therefore, less at the older ages. So, 28 18UB spots to CA teams in the original allocation seems about right given the allocation parameters.
I think a good proposal for allocations by zone is:
Top seed to Championship (1-48)
After the top seed, fill the allocations from the bottom up
So, if a team had 7 allocations (3+4) but only 5 teams entered, #1 seed would go Champ, after that, teams placing 5, 4, 3, and 2 would all go to Classic filling spots 7, 6, 5, and 4.
The idea being that zones without enough teams interested in JOs would fare better in the Classic division yet still have a path to the Championship division.
Anyone want to explain why no one else can host CCA girls youth quals when we canât even get a scoreboard or refs on both sides of the pool?
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Howâs that gate fee?
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Same persons Venmo every yearâ
Iâm not sure thatâs right, the 2025 results show only 53 teams last year, not 70, based on the archives from the JO page:
58 for this year might mean more girls to account for the drop in 10u boys from 41 to 35. 10U girls up from 14 to 18 so a net gain of 3 10u teams overall (2026-111 vs 2025-108). Promising that there are more mixed and girls teams over last year.
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Good catch. I stand corrected.
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Quals action heating up!
Anybody have any teams that are hot this weekend to check out? Maybe some good semi or final game prospects?
In a related thread, pmj923 has talked up CHAWP 14u girls. Granted I do not know much about the subject and it first caught me by surprise - I do not recall anybody mentioning those girls among the favorites during the last several years. The discussion has always been about newports, patriots, santa barbaras, lamos, diablos, and such of the age group girls scene.
USA Water polo site says that two years ago, in 2024, CHAWP 12u girls finished in the middle of the Classic tournament and even last Fallâs results suggested that the team was pretty average. So I mostly dismissed all the talk as an overexcitement of a parent. I also thought that the team got stronger because players from a nearby club (Tsunami?) switched to CHAWP, doubling the strength. Boy, I was wrong 
CHAWP have just crushed CDM (a higher seed at the SOPAC JO Quals) 12:1, and moved to the top four. They could be for real.
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CHAWP 14U-18U was a force 10y ago. Along with Rose Bowl, one of those âwhere are they nowâ clubs. Glad to see a comeback.
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Thanks for saying. Canât believe anyone read my earlier post lol. Iâve seen CHAWPs 14u girls team on multiple occasions. I watched them beat SBWP 3 times this year 
My niece plays for SoCal so I see them a lot. They are legit.
Their losses are respectable. Lost to LAMO by 1, Santa Cruz by 1, Stanford by 1, basically tied at half to Newport at CalCup earlier this year. I think they may have even beat Tsunami 16s or at least game them a run for their money a couple weeks ago.
Not sure they are legit to beat top 3 in 14s,but you never know. They look fierce, fast, and skilled. Saw a girl today switch hands on multiple occasions scoring at will against CDM. Coach Salvinski is cooking up something over there in Corona
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I think Rose Bowl peaked in early 2010s when Dan Leyson was in charge. Club membership increased by 4-5 times during his tenure, if I am not mistaken.
Chawp definitely got better than usual, probably right around 6th overall right now for 14, give or take a range of a couple.
But they got their tests at JQual and Chawp just lost by 10 to 15 goals to Patriot and Newport. Not to mention that San Clemente had a nice 2 goal win over Patriot.
I think they finished 4th SPA JQual but that doesnât tell the whole story when their final two games against competition were big lopsided losses 12-2 and 15-3.
I would probably put those three teams plus 908 ahead of them for sure. After that, thereâs a pack of teams that they are definitely in and they will have fun this summer competing against, but I donât see how they get to the podium. Itâs great to see the girls being supported.
No podium for them for sure, I agree, but to come out and play the way they did I actually give respect. They only have 9 girls. Patriot and Newport can swap the whole team out for fresh legs.
Also, San Clemente lost 12:1 and CHAWP lost 12:2 to Newport. How do you analyze that⌠San Clemente has beaten up on a lot teams this year too and they were also destroyed by Newport and they have a whole squad to sub out for fresh legs. For a little team like CHAWP to have to play basically the top 2 teams in the country with only an hours worth of rest in between tells me more about their grit and spirit than the actual score. Anyone outside of the top three should fear having to pull that little team in JOâs
Was up at Westlake high school today. 908 and SB stood out at the 14 girls. Shore looked solid at times as well. Great to see all the teams competing.
I wouldnât say for sure, anything can happen. A lot of girls in 8th grade who are very good play up to 16u to get ready for high school and even year JOâs pulls a lot of top talent to national team so that can shift JO.
908 and Newport have huge benches. Patriot does not. San Diego, they ran a bench of 1-2 on their way to silver. May have been some consolidation this weekend but that wasnât the norm.
I donât think many pay attention to girls water polo until 16U and thatâs kind of evidence on these boards too if you notice the ratio between boys and girls conversations.
That being said, this year belongs to Newport girls 14U. Kind of a boring year for them in my opinion because theyâre real fun is when games are competitive and most of their bench barely get to play these days when if they just joined another program, they can be a star, but instead they ride the bench and donât get any of the attention or development that they probably deserve. Such is life in Water Polo sometimes. Some people would rather ride the bench on a winning team than play competitively themselves.
I donât think itâs a good idea to compare Newport to San Clemente or Patriot or 908 or Chawp. Theyâre undefeated and on a different level.
I do think itâs fair to compare San Clemente or Patriot or 908 to the rest.
Untouchable this year
Newport 14U who beat the below top tier consistently by 5-10 goals
Top tier
San Clemente, Patriot, 908
Then there is a decent drop off and really competitive teams with great games and if youâre interested in enjoying the sport and having a good time, thatâs where the most fun is. I think thatâs where CHAWP is. I thought they would do a little bit better against the top tier, but it was just too lopsided but it would be cool if they can find a way to close that gap. It would be good for Water Polo for sure.
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Any insights into the many Quals these past weekends? Personally I really liked the 14u boys level at SoPac. I watched these boys in October and the amount they have developed until now is truly impressive.
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The Midwest Zone is doing their 18s qual this weekend. I donât see a schedule on their webpage but hope to soon.
Mountain zone with their 6 18UB spots and 5 groups that have both Championship and Classic allocations is the only zone that doesnât even have a qual scheduled on this page: